Power Rangers: Omni Force
by Syd and Z
Summary: When a new threat arises, a new team, led by familiar faces, is called on to save the world. Rated: M. R
1. The New Team Part 1

Power Rangers: Omni Force

A/N: Yes, another Becky & Teal story… We apologize for the severe length of it lol. We just started writing and couldn't stop! Stay tuned for updates from our other stories within the next few months. We've both been incredibly busy with school, hence the lack of updating! Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize, we don't own. Minus the two 'familiar faces' the characters are our own creations, please don't use them without permission and the song credits are as follows: _I Can't Win – _Default, _Flathead – _The Fratellis and _It Ends Tonight – _The All American Rejects.

---

Kayleigh Johnson slumped down in her physics class, resting her chin in her palm. Her eyes drooped as Professor Jones droned on an on about velocity. She sat back in her chair and placed her hands on her lap, making sure they were under her desk. She stared down at her hands and smirked as she slowly changed her fingernails one by one from their colorless state to a vibrant red color. Smirking lightly, she removed her hands from her lap and placed her hands back on top of her desk.

"That's all class. Have a good afternoon." Professor Jones finished. Kayleigh smiled as she stuffed her textbooks into her black shoulder bag. She moved swiftly from the classroom and headed back towards her residence room.

"Hey, Kay!" Called a voice. Kayleigh turned to see her friend Samantha, jogging up to her.

"Hey, Sam, what's up?" Kayleigh asked.

"Did you get the email from Coach Hart?" Samantha asked. Kayleigh tilted her head to the side and shook her head.

"Email?" She asked. "No, I didn't see it. What did old battle axe Hart have to say?" Samantha's eyes widened.

"Careful! You never know who might hear you call her that. You know that the other girls are fighting you tooth and nail to be appointed captain of the team. If someone heard you and told Coach that, you'd be out of the running."

"Whatever, Sam. Anyway, what did the email say?"

"Coach cancelled tonight's practice and moved it to tomorrow night."

"Oh, super, I've got a free night. My TV will be overjoyed," Kayleigh joked. Sam grinned.

"Kay, you're hilarious. What's on TV tonight?" She questioned. Kayleigh shrugged her shoulder and brushed her black curls out of her face.

"Who knows? As long as there's no practice, I'm more than willing to just watch reruns of Sex in the City to occupy my time."

"Well, have fun with that. I've got a history test tomorrow, going to use the free night to study," Sam replied.

"Study? Wow, don't you live a thrilling life?" Kayleigh replied sarcastically.

"You know, some of us do actually worry about our G.P.As," Sam replied.

"Yeah," Kayleigh smirked, putting a hand on Sam's shoulder. "And some of us don't let trivial things like that distract us," she joked. Sam shook her head, and then caught sight of Kayleigh's hand.

"Oooh, Kay, that's an awesome color, what is it?" She asked. Kay's smirk faded as she quickly pulled her hand away.

"Uh……don't know. Borrowed it from some freshman on my floor," she said.

"Oh well it's really nice. Maybe I'll come grab that from you later." Sam replied, heading off in the direction of her car. Kay waved and let out a sigh of relief. _That was close _she thought. She turned around and noticed two of the girls vying for Captain of the team heading towards her.

"Shit." Kay muttered under her breath. She quickly spun back around and closed her eyes momentarily. When she reopened her eyes, gone were her soft blue eyes. In place of them were dark green ones. Her black hair was now a fiery red. Her beautiful gymnast figure was replaced with a sexy hour glass one. She spun back around and began walking towards the girls, who as she passed them, noticed nothing different. However a figure close to where Kay had changed her appearance.

"I think I just found her." The voice whispered before heading back towards the Gym.

---

"All right, Sam, keep those toes pointed…….fantastic," Kimberly Hart shouted above the sound of spring boards bouncing and girls tumbling on the mats. Samantha pointed her toes as she delicately walked along the balance beam. "Keep your arms straight," Kimberly coached. "Bend at your knees, not your back, honey," Kimberly said, making sure to attach the endearment to her coaching, trying not to come off as too demanding.

"Yeah, Sam. I think the judges will deduct points if you stick your gigantic butt out," Holly chimed in from practicing her floor routine. The unexpectedness of the insult caused Samantha to lose her balance and fall on the beam, her legs on either side of the equipment.

"Ow!" Samantha exclaimed. Kimberly rushed over to the girl and helped her off the beam, guiding her to the floor. Kayleigh, who had just stepped down from the uneven bars walked over to Holly.

"Hey, Holly?" Kayleigh said, as she approached the blonde, making her stand up from the floor.

"What?"

"I'm sure the judges will deduct points from your swollen nose," she replied calmly.

"Swollen wha…" Before Holly could finish, Kayleigh's fist slammed into the girl's nose.

"Kayleigh!" Kim shouted as Holly stumbled around the floor towards the showers.

"Practice is over for tonight everyone! Same time tomorrow. Kayleigh Johnson, stay where you are." Kim growled at the black haired gymnast. "Everyone else hit the showers. Amanda, get Holly some ice." She advised a younger gymnast. As she spoke, two of Holly's friend, Maureen and Tina, helped her to her feet. Holly held her hand over her nose, trying to keep the blood off her expensive gym gear.

"Hey, Johnson," Holly sneered. "Thanks for that. You just made the race for captain less of a problem," she said.

"Yeah, as if Coach's going to let a psycho like you be captain," Tina agreed.

"Tina, how'd you like to match your little puppet master?" Kayleigh threatened. Tina yelped and shrieked behind Holly.

"Girls, I believe I said hit the showers," Kim said to the three girls. Maureen, Holly and Tina quickly left the room, with Amanda trying to catch up with them with a hand full of ice. Kayleigh sighed once the gym was empty except for her and Kimberly. She turned to her coach.

"Well, give it to me Coach Hart. Give me the bad news. I'm not in the running for Captain anymore." Kay said, hands placed on her hips in an angry stance. Kim opened her mouth to say something but Kay shook her head. "Don't bother Coach. I get it. I'll pull myself out of the running." She grimaced as she grabbed her bag and headed for the door.

"Actually... I was gonna say: nice hit... And ask you a question," Kimberly said. Kayleigh stopped where she stood and turned her head back to Kimberly with a skeptical look on her face.

"What? No lecture about fighting? Not even a mild suggestion to do some anger management techniques or something?" She asked. Kimberly smirked.

"Don't tell the other girls I said this, but Holly's been begging for a good punch in the face for a while," she said. Kayleigh fully turned to her coach, with her eyebrows raised. "I've thought about kicking her off the team, but well, her dad's one of the most influential members of the alumni board……..and, well, I do value my job." Kay smirked. She nodded knowingly.

"So I'm free to go then?" She asked. Kim shook her head.

"No... I actually have a favor to ask..."

"A favor? What, break both of Holly's legs and get her benched for the rest of the year?" Kay asked. Kim laughed.

"Not exactly," she said. "You know what, why don't you come into my office?" Kimberly asked. Without waiting for a response, she walked to her small office set off to the side of the gym. Kay shrugged and picked up her bag, following the older woman. Once they were inside the office, Kimberly walked behind Kay and shut the office door. Kay could hear the distinctive click of the lock. Kimberly then walked behind her desk. "Sit," she said, gesturing to the chair on the other side of the desk. Kayleigh obliged. Kimberly smiled and sat down on her desk chair.

"So, this favor you wanted to ask, what is it? Coach some of the younger girls in their routines?" She asked, getting her water bottle out of her bag and taking a long sip.

"Not quite," Kimberly said. "I was actually wondering how you'd feel about saving the world," she said calmly. Kayleigh nearly spit out her water, caught off guard by the sentence. She slowly swallowed her water and stared at her.

"Come again?" She asked. Kim smiled.

"I had the same reaction you did at first." Kim grabbed a box out of her desk and held it in Kay's direction.

"I saw what you did yesterday. You completely changed your appearance... I have no idea how, but I realized that you're the one person that might be able to save this world. I'm offering you a chance to be a Power Ranger." Kim finished. Kayleigh stared at her with even wider eyes. _She saw me? No……..No way, I'm always so careful. She couldn't have seen me…._

"I………Change my appearance?" Kayleigh asked, spitting out a forced laugh. "Uh, Coach, have you been enjoying Happy Hour in your office or something? I mean………Really……….Change my appearance? Pshh, yeah, I wish." Kimberly frowned.

"Kay," she urged gently. "There's no need to go in denial mode. And don't worry, no one else saw."

"I……." Kayleigh sighed. She shook her head. "Anyway…….what do you mean, save the world?" She asked, deciding to humor Kimberly, as well as her own curiosity. "From what? Global warming?" She smirked. Kimberly sighed and leaned back in her chair.

"I wish," she said. She then sat up straight and Kayleigh noticed a change in her demeanor. She became even more serious. "Almost ten years ago, almost all of the universe's evil being banded together to take over the planet, as well as many others," she then looked down sadly. "Fortunately, the destruction of a powerful entity named Zordon annihilated all the evil beings, restoring peace to the universe……….Or so we thought," she said. "Somehow, one of the lesser minions, Hefaris, survived and has been using the years to gather his strength, as well as minions of his own. He wants to finish what Dark Specter hoped to accomplish—the destruction of Earth and all its inhabitants. Now, it's your job to make sure that doesn't happen," she concluded, edging the box closer to the girl. Kayleigh stared at her, dumbfounded for several long seconds before letting out a snicker that quickly erupted into hysterical laughter.

"Oh my god, Coach, you actually had me going there for a second. Evil beings? Hefaris? Where'd you come up with that? Sounds like the name of some kind of rash ointment or something," she said between her laughter. Kim blinked and said nothing for a moment.

"Your reaction was pretty much the same as mine... Kay, I was a power ranger when I was in high school. And now, a similar evil has returned and I won't stand by and watch as the world falls to ruin. Kayleigh, you are the only one that can stop it... Will you do it?" Kayleigh furrowed her brows, still not quite believing this.

"If you're a ranger, why can't you just do it?" She asked.

"Because I'm not a ranger, I _was_ a ranger," she replied sadly.

"What happened? Got too old to do the job?" Kayleigh asked, sarcasm dripping in her tone. Kim chuckled.

"Believe it or not, I actually joined the Pan Globals, and dedicated my life to gymnastics." She replied softly. Kayleigh's eyebrows rose.

"You were in the Pan Globals?" She asked, surprised. She knew that the Pan Globals were pretty much the stepping stone to the Olympics, and was surprised to see that anyone who could actually make it to the Pan Globals wasn't off enjoying Olympic medals. "What happened?" Kayleigh asked. Kimberly sighed.

"Sometimes, when you want something so much and give up everything else in the world for it………..it almost doesn't even seem worth it anymore," she said. Kayleigh looked at her coach.

"I don't get it." She replied slowly. Kim sighed and shook her head.

"It doesn't matter," she said. She pushed the box closer to Kayleigh again. "What does matter is the safety of all humanity." Kayleigh looked at her.

"Alright. I'll do it," she replied taking the box and opening it slowly. Inside was a thin silver linked chain with a red gem lightly resting in the center. "Hmm," she mused, "stylish." She took the chain between her fingers and picked up the necklace, letting the gem dangle in the air, gazing at it. She lifted her other hand and held the gem in her palm. Suddenly, the gem glowed and her hand felt warm. "Whoa," she breathed. "What's going on?" Kimberly smiled.

"Oh good, looks like I was right in picking you for the job. The gem seems to be responding to you."

"Responding?" Kayleigh asked.

"The gems will only work with one specific person," she said. _Believe me; I learned that one the hard way, _she thought to herself as she remembered her attempts to use the gem.

"Wait," Kayleigh said, looking at Kimberly. "_Gems?_ You mean, there are more people in this little function?" Kimberly shook her head.

"No," she said. "I mean, sure most ranger teams have more than one member, of course, but," she said, smiling warmly. "You're the only one we've found to fill the position perfectly."

"What happens if I screw up though? Isn't there someone who can help me?" Kayleigh demanded, feeling slightly panicked at the idea of being completely alone in this task.

"You won't screw this up," Kimberly assured her.

"How do you know that?" Kayleigh demanded. "I mean, you unload all this on me………and expect me to do it alone? Are you flippin' loony?" Kim smiled softly.

"Maybe, but I have faith in you." She sat back and wrote something down on a piece of paper before handing it over to her. "Listen, we need to talk more about this, but I've got some classes left for the day, so how about you come by my house, it's that address right there, around seven tonight and we'll talk more about this."

"You actually expect me to concentrate through the rest of the day after this?" Kayleigh asked. Kim shrugged.

"If you can't, you're more than welcome to use the equipment in the gym to release your excess energy or even go back to your dorm room." Kim told her. Kayleigh blinked and slowly stood up, clutching the box in her hand.

Alright..." She trailed off slowly before turning and starting towards the door.

"Oh, and Kay?" Kimberly asked, making Kayleigh turn back to her. "I'm sure this goes without saying, but it'd be best if you kept this to yourself," she said. Kayleigh rolled her eyes.

"As if anyone would believe me," she said before leaving, deciding she'd go back to her room and try to study…….or just stare blankly at the wall in shock.

---

Gabriella Ortiz stood by the entrance to the campus gymnasium, keeping herself partly hidden in the shadows around the corner. She stared at the big yard by campus, more specifically, stared at a particular boy sitting against a tree in the yard. Gabriella adjusted her thick framed glasses as a blush came upon her cheeks, as it always did whenever she stared at Yamato Kenji. She shifted nervously in her place and twirled the end of one of her long braids in her fingers as she stared at him sitting in his tight blue short sleeve shirt that framed around his muscular arms, displaying the tattoo around his left bicep and blue jeans as he read a book, completely oblivious to her existence. Gabriella was about to drift into one of her many daydreams about him when she felt someone slam into her, making her stumble to the ground and send her school papers fluttering down.

"Oh, man, I'm sorry," she heard someone say. She looked up and saw a taller girl with black curly hair wearing jeans and a red sweatshirt. She bent down and took Gabriella's arm, helping her up to her feet.

"Oh……uh…….it's……….it's okay, I…….uh……shouldn't have been uh….in your way," Gabriella stammered quietly.

"Oh man," Kayleigh said, noticing she made the girl drop her papers. "Here, let me get those," she said.

"Oh, no….it's……I can do it," Gabriella said, but Kayleigh was already gathering her papers for her. Gabriella stood their awkwardly and straightened her khaki skirt and white and pink argyle sleeveless sweater vest, brushing dirt off the sleeves of the white blouse she wore underneath and the legs of her white stockings. Kayleigh stacked the papers together and handed them back to her.

"Here you go," Kayleigh said. Gabriella smiled and reached to take the papers from her. _This is great. Aren't power rangers supposed to like excel in coordination or something? _Gabriella's hand stilled as it came around the papers and she stared at Kayleigh with furrowed brows. Kayleigh frowned. _Uh, okay, what's this chick's deal? _She wondered.

"Oh……uh……thanks," Gabriella stammered, taking the papers.

"Yeah, no problem," Kayleigh said as she turned, walking towards her dorm.

"Uh, I'm Ga…." Gabriella stopped, seeing Kayleigh had already forgotten her and was heading on her way. "Uh, never mind," she mumbled. She looked down at her papers to see if they were in order and saw that one piece was missing. She frowned and looked around the ground for it, not seeing where it could be. "Ah man," she said. She crouched down and looked around.

"Uh," she heard someone say as they tapped her shoulder. She looked up and saw Yamato standing by her. "Looking for this?" He asked, holding out her missing piece of paper.

"Oh!" She gasped, standing up quickly, which resulted in her shoulder accidentily colliding with his nose, as well as the papers in her hand falling to the ground.

"Ah!" He exclaimed, stumbling back, placing his hand on his nose as he doubled over slightly. "Just wanted to give you back your paper," he grumbled.

"Oh……oh god…….I…….I'm so sorry," Gabriella gasped. She ducked down and set her book bag on the ground, opening the small pocket in the front of her bag and fishing out a packet of tissues. She stood back up and held the packet to him. "I……Is it b…bleeding?" She asked, fearfully. Yamato stood up and looked at her through his long black bangs. He pulled his hand off his face. Gabriella was happy to see there was no blood.

"No, just sore as hell," he grumbled.

"Oh good……..I…….I mean…..not good that your sore…..just," she stammered, feeling flustered. "Uh…yay, no blood," she said.

"…..Right," he said. _It'd just be my luck if this gets swollen before tonight. That's the last time I do something nice for someone, _he thought to himself. Gabriella looked down.

"I didn't mean to…..uh…" she stammered.

"Yeah, whatever," he said, handing her the paper. Gabriella bit her lip before kneeling down and gathering her papers. Yamato sighed, _fine, I guess one last nice thing couldn't hurt, _he thought as he knelt down beside her. "Here, let me help," he said. He grouped together some papers and handed them to her. She smiled as she took it from him.

"Thanks," she said. Yamato nodded and stood up before taking her hand and helping her up to her feet. Gabriella blushed.

"See ya around," he said as he turned to leave.

"Uh…you….you should put some ice on it," she said quickly. Yamato turned back to her with a questioning look. "…Your nose…Uh….you should put some ice on it….So it doesn't swell," she stammered. Yamato chuckled.

"Thanks," he said. Gabriella nodded. "You should probably put your papers in your bag, since you've been having some trouble keeping tack of 'em," he said, smiling warmly, causing Gabriella to blush intensely.

"Right…I'll……I'll do that," she said. She bent down and opened her bag, hiding her blush as she put her papers away.

"I'm Mat, by the way," he said. Gabriella nodded.

"I kno…..Uh, I mean, uh…nice to meet you," she said, working her papers in her bag, afraid to look up at him. Yamato stood there and smirked gently.

"Do you have a name?" He asked. Gabriella closed her bag and stood up, picking her bag up from the ground.

"Uh…yeah…."

"Well?"

"Oh, uh, I'm uh," she stammered. She paused and cleared her throat. "Gabriella," she said.

"Nice to meet you, Gabs," he said, smiling. Gabriella's cheeks turned a deep crimson at that.

"Uh, I……I've got to go…." She stammered as she quickly went to walk away.

"Hey, are you doing anything tonight?" He asked. Gabriella froze and turned back to him, her eyes as wide as saucers. "Well, I'm in this band…..and we've got this show tonight…..just trying to get the word out, you know?" He reached in his back pocket and pulled out a 8x10 card and handed it to her. Gabriella looked down and saw it was a mini flyer that read: **_KEN-etic performing at the Scott Club. Fridays 8pm. $8.00 cover charge. _**"Sorry for the totally cheesy flyer. One of the other guys just made it on his computer," he said. Gabriella giggled lightly.

"It's nice," she said.

"So...?" He asked, his voice trailing off.

"Oh, uh.."

"Come on, you _do_ owe me for injuring my nose," he kidded. Gabriella blushed again. "So I'll see you there?" He asked. Gabriella nodded.

"Sure," she said as she tucked the card in her bag.

"Awesome," he said, smiling as he swept his hair out of his face with the back of his thumb. "Oh, you are over 18 right? Cause, uh, they do card at this place," he said. Gabriella's face fell.

"I'm 21…." She said softly. _Oh god, he must think I'm some little girl or something. _Yamato frowned.

"Oh…uh…sorry….I……uh…" he stammered. _Shoot, open mouth, insert foot. Hope she's now thinking about not coming. _Gabriella smiled gently.

"It's okay," she said. "So……I……guess I'll see you at 8?" She asked. Yamato smiled.

"Yeah, yeah," he said.

"Okay," she said. "Uhm….well, see you then…" she said. She took a tentative step back before clearing her throat. "Uh, bye," she said as she walked away, turning around the corner of the gymnasium.

"Yeah, see ya Gabs!" Yamato called out after her. He turned around and went to walk the other way when he saw his friend, Lydia Washington, smirking. She wore flared stylish jeans with green embroidered flowers along the hem and a black short sleeve shirt that displayed her flat dark skinned stomach.

"Wow Mattie, smooth job talkin' up the ladies," she said, tossing her straightened caramel colored hair over her shoulder. Yamato rolled his eyes.

"I wasn't talking her up," he said. "Just being polite and trying to get some promotion out there," he said, giving a sheepish smile, walking over to her.

"Aw, she seemed kind of cute……..In a president of the chess club kind of way," she said. She smiled. "Anyway, I think she liked you." Yamato rolled his eyes and hooked his arm around her neck as the two walked off together.

"Whatever, Lyddie," he said, laughing. Unbeknownst to them, Gabriella stood against the corner of the gymnasium, looking down sadly after overhearing their conversation. She sighed and pulled the flyer out of her bag, staring down at the smooth card. She closed her eyes and held it by the edge with both of her hands, ready to rip it up. She stopped and looked down at it and sighed, putting it back in her bag as she walked away.

---

Mat turned his car into the alley behind the club, pulling into the small parking lot behind the establishment. Lydia flipped open the visor of the passenger side in the car to check her makeup as Mat shut off his car.

"Come on, Lydz, quit primping. It's time for work," Mat smirked. Lydia rolled her eyes and smacked his arm as he laughed.

"I still don't see why Mr. Scott wants us here so early. I mean we don't open until 7," Lydia grumbled as she reached in the backseat to get her backpack. Mat shrugged.

"The place just opened a few weeks ago. He wants to make sure everything's perfect every night for the first few months, I guess." Lydia rolled her eyes as the two of them got out of the car.

"Great, I lose my personal time; time I could use to use too work on my dance for the end of year recital or coordinate new outfits, because he wants to make sure his pride and joy makes money," she muttered as they walked into the club through the back entrance.

"I'm sorry to hear I'm cutting into your personal time," came a voice as they turned the corner to get to the front of the club. They both froze as they saw their boss standing behind the bar with his arms across his chest.

"Mr. Scott!" Lydia squeaked. "I...I didn't realize you were there..." she said. Jason chuckled and shook his head good naturedly. "I didn't mean that _you're _cutting into my personal time...I...I just mean that...uh...well..." She began to ramble as Jason, and even Mat, looked at her with amused expressions on their faces. "Please don't fire me?" She asked.

Lydia," Jason said, his voice twanged with his chuckles. "Believe me, wanting to have a life is not a reason to be fired, at least not in my book," he said. Lydia sighed, visibly relieved to hear this. "Besides," Jason added, "I can't fire you, I don't have another waitress lined up for tonight," he said. Lydia rolled her eyes as Mat chuckled.

"There you go Lyd, at least you can keep your job for tonight." He kidded lightly as his female friend smacked him lightly in the arm. "Jerk." She replied. Jason smiled at the pair.

"Hey, Mr. Scott. Took the trash out...since _someone _forgot to do it last night," came a voice from the backroom. The others turned to see Josh Wilson walk into the room and join them.

"Oh, sorry about that man," Mat said. "I had to leave a little early last night. The guys wanted to shove in a practice before classes today." Mat said. Josh rolled his eyes and swept his shaggy blonde hair aside.

"Whatever," Josh grumbled as he walked off to start pulling down the chairs that had been stacked on the tables the night before. Mat rolled his eyes.

"And I just can't figure out why we can't be friends," Mat muttered sarcastically to Lydia. She giggled.

"Hey now, kids," Jason said. "Play nice," he said, obviously having heard what Mat had said. Mat looked over at his boss.

"Sorry about that, sir," Mat said, standing straight and pushing his shoulders back, giving Jason a salute. "Total civility from here on out, sir." Jason shook his head.

"I really do begin to wonder why I keep you around," Jason sighed. Mat grinned.

"Simple symbiotic relationship, sir. My band provides a music act for you once a week...free of charge of course...and you give us a place to spread our tunes."

"Ah, right," Jason said. "Anyway, your music act doesn't start for a few hours, so how about you do the job I actually pay you to do here?" Mat nodded, slumping into his normal stature. "Good. I got some more rolls of paper towels and toilet paper. Can you stack them up on the shelf in the backroom?"

"Sure thing," Mat said as he departed to do as he was asked.

"I guess I'll go help tall, not-so-dark, and moody with the chairs," Lydia said as she went to go unstack the chairs.

"Hey, Lydia," Jason called after the young girl, she turned back to him. "I have to go and do something for a little while in a few hours, I probably won't be back until after we open. Could you just kind of make sure things don't get too hectic around here?"

"Sure," Lydia said. "Is everything okay?" She asked. Jason nodded.

"Yeah. A friend of mine just bought this new entertainment center and I promised I'd help her set it up," he said. "Anyway, Zeke should be here in a few hours, so you guys don't need to worry about the drinks," he said, referring to the new bartender he had hired a week ago. Lydia smirked.

"Oooh, Zeke," she said. "Hmm..." she began, thinking about the handsome bartender, only stopping when she remembered who she was talking to. "Er, I mean...Oh okay," she said. Jason cocked an eyebrow at the young lady.

"Zeke? Really?" He asked, an amused expression on his face. Lydia blushed.

"Anyway, I should… go…" She continued to blush as she exited the room quickly. Jason chuckled lightly. "Kids these days."

Lydia walked away from her boss and found the time clock by the backroom. She saw that Mat had already clocked himself in, as well as her. She smiled and decided to go find her friend and thank him.

Lydia opened the door to the backroom of the club, about to walk in when she heard a loud shout and a body falling to the ground. She walked in and saw Mat lying on his back, looking up at her. She chuckled and shut the door behind her.

"What are you doing?" She asked. Mat rolled his eyes and stood up. "Mr. Scott asked me to put the extra rolls of paper up on the top shelf..." he said, his voice trailing off. Lydia giggled.

"Aw, Mattie...was someone using his powers in the work place?" She asked. Mat rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I heard the door open, and thought it was Mr. Scott, so I kind of...panicked..."

"...And you figured if he saw you on the floor, he'd just believe you fell off the step ladder, right?" "Pretty much," Mat said. Lydia shook her head.

"Well, there's a flaw in that logic, my friend," she said. "What's that?"

"Well, the fact that the step ladder is all the way over there," she said, pointing across the room. "Which makes the whole 'I've fallen and I can't get up' routine verge into the realm of disbelief," Mat looked down sheepishly before gathering up the rolls of paper towels he dropped.

"Whatever, can you just watch the door?" He asked. Lydia laughed and nodded as Mat floated a few feet above the floor and reached the top of the high shelf with ease. Lydia saw a roll of paper that Mat and left on the floor.

"You forgot this one," she said. From her spot about two feet away from the roll, her arm stretched out as she picked it up, before stretching her arm up to Mat's level.

"Here you go," she said. Mat took the roll from her. "Thanks," he said as Lydia let her arm reseeded back to it's normal length.

"You know," Lydia said. "You are a horrible influence on me."

"I have been?" Mat asked. Lydia nodded.

"Yeah," she said. "I mean, using powers out in the open like this...that's a no-no," she said. Mat chuckled as he put the last of his rolls of paper on the shelf and floated back down to the floor to get more.

"First of all, out in the open? We're in the backroom," he said as e bent down to pick up more rolls of paper. "Second of all, don't even try to pretend you don't use your super stretching all the time when no one's around," he said as he floated back up again. Lydia shifted her eyes to the side, knowing he was right.

"Fine, maybe I do...sometimes," she said, thinking of the times she'd stretch her arm out to shut off her roommate's alarm clock when her roommate would leave for the weekend and forget to shut it off.

"Well?" Mat said. "How can I be influencing you then?" Lydia rolled her eyes.

"Forget it, Flyboy," she said. Mat laughed.

"Whatever you say, Stretchy," he said.

"But we do have to be careful," Lydia said as Mat came down again. "I'm sorry, but I don't need the whole world knowing I'm..."

"Don't say it," Mat admonished. Lydia sighed.

"Fine, I won't say the f-word," she said.

"Hey, Lydz?" Mat asked.

"What?"

"Do you think there's anyone else...I mean, anyone else who's got...these abilities?" He asked. Lydia made a face before shaking her head.

"Doubtful. I mean, we were freak accidents...What's the probability of there being other people like us?"

"Lydia, what did I say about using that word?" Mat said, wagging a finger at her. Lydia sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Yes mom." Lydia replied, rolling her eyes.

"Come on, Lydia. You're just focusing on the negative about this. We've got abilities people would kill for," he said.

"Uh yeah, maybe you do," Lydia said. "I mean, you can fly. Gosh, I would love to fly. What can I do? Ooooh, I can stretch my limps out...how wonderful," Lydia said sarcastically.

"Hey, it was good enough for Reed Richards," Mat said with a shrug. Lydia stared at him blankly. "...Reed Richards...Mr. Fantastic...The Fantastic Four," Mat said, as Lydia still stared at him blankly. Mat rolled his eyes. "It's a comic book...You know, something that isn't Cosmo,"

"Ha-ha, funny," Lydia said.

"I know I am," Mat smirked. Lydia rolled her eyes and stretched her arm out to smack his shoulder. Mat laughed.

---

Kayleigh sat on her bed, staring at her wall as her mind replayed what had gone on earlier that day. "

I'm a power ranger?" She asked herself, not believing it. Suddenly, there was a knock on her door. Kayleigh sighed and got up from the door as the knocking went on.

"I'm coming!" She snarled. Her hand closed around the doorknob. "Keep your damn.." she said as she swung the door open and froze. "...pants on..." she breathed out.

She stared at the Adonis standing in her doorway. He was tall, with a lean and muscular body that she could see though his tight black short sleeved short. He wore loose fitting jeans that she saw were held to him by a tight belt.

His skin was dark, as if he had just spent an entire lifetime in Hawaii or someplace just as sunny and his short dark hair was done up in tiny spikes. "Uh..." Kayleigh said, trying to find her voce again.

"Hi, is this Hannah's room?" He asked.

"Who?" She asked, and then blinked as she shook her head. "Uh...I mean...uh, yeah...Hannah...uh, she's my roommate..." she said. The guy smirked.

"Well, I kind of figured...since you're not Hannah, and this is her room," he said. Kayleigh laughed.

"Right, right..." she said. She stared at him again before having her wits finally return to her fully. "Uh...I'm Kayleigh," she said.

The guy smiled. "Riley Kiet," he said, extending his hand to her, which Kayleigh was more than happy to take hold of.

"So...uh...is Hannah here?" Riley asked as the two shook hands.

"Oh...Uh, no..." Kayleigh said. "She's still in class," she said. Riley nodded.

"Oh, okay," he said. He swung his book bag to his side as he reached into the pocket and pulled out a textbook. "Well, she leant me her sociology book the other day, and I just wanted to bring it back," he said, handing it to Kayleigh.

"Oh. I'll make sure she gets it," Kayleigh said, taking the book. Riley smiled, which nearly made Kayleigh melt right where she stood.

"Thanks," he said. "Tell her I said I appreciate her letting me borrow it," he said. "I went and visited some family in Thailand during Christmas break and I ended up leaving the book at my grandmother's place...all the way in Thailand...stupid me, right?" He said. "Anyway, until I can get a new one, I've been relying on the kindness of classmates to not totally fail the class," he said. Kayleigh laughed.

"Wow, that's got to suck," she said. Riley nodded. "Anyway, I'll make sure she gets the book and the message," she assured him.

"Thanks again," Riley said. "Well, I better get going," he said, situating his bag on his back again. "Have to go get ready for swim practice," he said. He stepped back and started making his way down the hall. Kayleigh leaned out her doorway as she watched him leave. "It was nice meeting you," he said, turning back to her. Kayleigh smiled.

"Same here," she said. She watched as he disappeared down the stairs, her mouth slightly agape. "My god… I can't believe Hannah didn't tell me that she lent her textbook to a god!" Slowly Kay shut the door and leaned against it, smiling. She looked down at her watch and realized it was getting close to 7pm.

"Guess I should get ready to go…" Kayleigh muttered, heading back towards her desk and grabbing her purse. She snatched the address off her bulletin board and headed back towards the door.

She was on her way out the door when she realized Hannah would be back before she would. She placed Hannah's textbook on her roommate's desk and wrote out a note on a sticky-note. _'Went out for a bit...be back later.-Kay. P.S. Riley brought your book back and says he appreciated you letting him borrow it...You could've told me a totally hot guy would be coming by the room to return your book, you know?'_ After she stuck the note on Hannah's text book, Kayleigh left the room, locking the door behind her.

She walked out of the dorm building and found her car in the student parking lot. She slid into the driver's seat and took a look at the directions Coach Hart gave her before pulling out of the lot and embarking on her journey. She drove along the streets of the city, following the directions and heading towards the outskirts of town.

"Why does Coach Hart live on the outskirts of town?" Kayleigh wondered out loud as she sped along. Kayleigh finally came across a lone house nestled deep in the woods. She recognized Coach Hart's car parked in the driveway, along with another. Kayleigh parked her car by the two and got out.

"This must be it," she reasoned. She walked up the porch steps of the house, marveling at the size of the house before her. "Hmm, I didn't know coaching paid so well," she said as she stood before the door and knocked. She waited a moment until she heard footsteps coming from the house. The door opened a few seconds later, revealing Coach Hart standing in the frame.

"Kay… I'm glad you came. Please come in." Kim smiled, opening the door wider so that the younger gymnast could enter.

"Thanks," Kayleigh said as she walked in. "Nice place," she said, looking at the nicely decorated living room.

"Thank you," Kimberly said. "Would you like something to drink?" She asked.

"Uh, no I'm fine, thanks," Kayleigh replied. Kimberly nodded.

"All right. Let's get down to business then," Kimberly said. "Would you follow me, please?" She asked as she began walking deep into the house. Kayleigh followed.

Kayleigh followed Kimberly as she walked past the living room, the staircase leading to the second level of the house, and the kitchen. Finally they came to a door in a room that looked like it should've been used for a study, but was currently just housing a couch and a single bookcase. Kimberly opened the door, which revealed a staircase leading downward.

"What, we going to the center of the earth or something?" Kayleigh cracked. Kimberly gave a soft chuckle.

"Not quite, come on," Kimberly said as she began to descend the stairs. Kayleigh shrugged and continued to follow her. They descended the stairs is a fairly well lit room.

Kayleigh was taken aback by the size of the room, as well as the long panel of computer equipment against the back wall, which centered on a monitor that seemed to reach all the way to the ceiling.

"Whoa," Kayleigh breathed out. "This is...wow..." she said. Kimberly smiled.

"It's not much," she said humbly. "Some friends helped me set this up, but it could've been better," she said.

"What, you're friends with NASA techs or something?" Kayleigh asked her eyes wide as saucers. Kimberly shrugged.

"Billy probably could've gotten a job at NASA...I mean, if he was still on this planet," she said with a breezy tone. Kayleigh stared at her. Kimberly chuckled. "He's on another planet. But we were able to set up communications with him. He sort of talked us through all this technical stuff," she said.

"_We_?" Kayleigh asked. Before Kimberly could reply, Kayleigh saw a man who looked to be about Kimberly's age walk in from another room.

"Work out room is now sufficiently set up," he announced as he walked in. He noticed Kayleigh standing there and smiled. "Ah, you must be the girl Kim told me about." Kimberly smiled as Jason approached them.

"Kay, this is Jason. Jase, this is Kayleigh," she said, introducing them. Kayleigh tilted her head as she peered at Jason.

"You're the guy who owns the club downtown, right?" She asked. Jason nodded.

"Jason Lee Scott, former power ranger and club proprietor, at your service," he said with a smirk.

"Former ranger?" Kayleigh asked. Kimberly laughed.

"You're looking at the very first red ranger," Kimberly said. Jason nodded and then gave a mock frown.

"And as you can imagine, I was a little less than thrilled to see the latest red ranger being well...different, no offense," he said, implying what he meant by 'different'. Kayleigh cocked an eyebrow at him.

"What, you think because I'm a girl I can't kick ass?" She asked, crossing her arms. Jason laughed.

"You were right, Kim, she is a tough one," he said. Kim shrugged her shoulders.

"I figured she was like you and very hard-headed, hence why I picked her." Kim replied, ignoring Kay's protest at being called hard-headed. There was silence for a moment before Jason spoke.

"Alright newbie, I suppose we should show you what everything is and how to work it." He commented, heading towards the far side of the room.

"Hang on a sec," Kayleigh said, making both of them stop. "Before you guys give me the grand tour...Who said I'm actually agreeing to do this?" She asked. Kimberly and Jason's faces visibly fell at this.

"Look, as any other kid, I grew up watching the Ranger footage on the news. I saw you guys, and people like you guys, fighting all kinds of freaky looking monsters...and a few times getting your asses royally handed to you on a silver platter," she said.

"What's your point?" Jason asked.

"My point is, you guys put your lives in danger on a regular basis. And, I'm sorry; I don't think I'm crazy enough to do that."

"It's not about being 'crazy enough'," Kimberly protested. "It's about knowing that you're the only thing between those 'freaky looking monsters' and the destruction of everything you love and hold dear." Kayleigh looked at the two former rangers standing in front of her.

"I don't understand how you two can actually think that I'm the one to be doing this. I mean what exactly qualifies me?" She questioned.

"Well, I think it goes without saying that your...extra ability...kind of puts you ahead in the running," Kimberly said. Kayleigh rolled her eyes.

"Oh, so just find the girl with special powers and automatically make her a ranger? You guys have an excellent screening process," she said. Kimberly sighed.

"You also have a strong idea of what's right and wrong, not to mention the conviction to back it up," Kimberly continued.

"What do you mean?" Kayleigh asked.

"Earlier today, your friend was getting ragged on, and you did something about it. You didn't care about getting in trouble, all you cared about was sticking up for Samantha," Kimberly said.

"...So I'm a good friend, I don't see how that qualifies me as a ranger," Kayleigh said.

"You're not afraid to do the right thing Kay." Jason spoke up. Kay turned and looked at him. "You're willing to defend those who might not normally be able to defend themselves. That's what makes you the perfect candidate to be a ranger, not to mention the leader," he said proudly. Kayleigh stared at them.

"Leader?" She asked. "But I thought I was the only one," she said. "So...who exactly would I lead?"

"You're right, you are the only one," Kimberly said. "For now," she added.

"She's right. You're going to need help. You didn't actually think we'd be sending you out to fight all by yourself?" Jason asked. Kayleigh shrugged.

"Figured maybe you guys took a few too many blows to the head in your ranger days, you know, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth," she smirked.

"Ha-ha, funny," Kimberly said dryly.

"So, who am I leading?" Kayleigh asked. Jason and Kimberly shared a look before looking back and the younger girl.

"Unfortunately, we haven't exactly found them yet," Kimberly said. Kay looked at her coach, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Great, so I'm leading the non-existent team of the blind, deaf and dumb. Thanks Coach Hart." Kayleigh replied sarcastically. Jason looked at her.

"Actually, I thought that you might be able to help us there. You might know some people, or come across them…" He trailed off. Kayleigh looked at him.

"So in other words I can pick and choose my team?" She questioned, not fully understanding the point.

"Kind of," Kimberly said. She walked over to a table near the computer console and picked up a medium sized wooden box that laid on it.

"Kind of?" Kayleigh asked as Kimberly walked back with the box.

Remember how the gem I gave you reacted when you touched it earlier?" Kimberly asked. Kayleigh nodded.

"Yeah. It felt a little warm to the touch and glowed," Kayleigh said, remembering.

"Well, we kind of need that same reaction with these," Kimberly said, opening the box. Kayleigh saw four more necklaces like the one she had been given by Kimberly, except they were different colors. There was a green one, blue one, a yellow one, and a white one.

"It's the only way the gems will work, if they're in the possession of the right person," Jason said. He sighed. "When we first found out about Hefaris, Kim and I tried to...well, take up our former job, unfortunately none of the gems reacted with either of us."

"So...the gem reacted with me, and that's why I'm supposed to be a ranger?" Kayleigh asked.

"Well, yeah...but, I mean, your other qualities don't exactly hurt you." Kimberly said with a smile. Kayleigh looked at them.

"Alright. Fine. I'll do it…" She replied looking at the other gems.

"How am I supposed to figure out how the gems will react to someone? I can't exactly run around holding them out in front of me now can I?" She asked, looking at her mentors.

"True," Jason said. "I guess it's really a judgment call," he said.

"Judgment call?" Kayleigh asked.

"Keep your eyes out for anyone who might fit the bill, like I did with you," Kimberly said.

"Fine, say I find someone who just might have it to be a ranger, how am I supposed to find out if the gem reacts to them?" Kayleigh asked.

"You'll know," Jason said. "The gems seem to have an idea who they're natural owner should be, and these gems are all connected to each other, as you and your teammates should be."

"So, what, now I'm going to have ranger-dar or something?" Kayleigh asked. Jason and Kimberly laughed.

"Not quite. More like...enhanced perception," Kimberly said.

"Yes," Kimberly said. Kayleigh nodded and picked up the four necklaces. "Now, how about that tour?" She asked with a smile. Jason looked at his watch.

"Kim, you're going to have to do the tour with out me. I have to get back to the club," he said.

"All right," Kimberly said.

"I'll come back later. Just want to show my face, make sure everything's going okay," he said as he made his way to the stairs. "It was nice meeting you Kayleigh, glad to have you on board," he said as he jogged up the stairs.

After Jason left, Kimberly looked at Kayleigh. "All right, now how about that tour?" She asked with a smile.

"Sure. I mean, if this is going to be the base of operations for this whole thing, I might as well know where everything is," Kayleigh said with a shrug. Kimberly nodded and led the girl along the room, showing her the computers and explaining how they worked, before leading her to another room. Kayleigh was surprised to see what she concluded was the work-out room Jason had mentioned earlier. It was as large as the main room.

"And this is our little training room," Kimberly said. Kayleigh stared through the large window, looking at all the equipment that was in the room. She saw that the floor was covered with a large blue mat, much like that used in the school gym for gymnastics' practice, she saw a stand with some free weights as well as a bench press stand, a balance beam and a punching bag hanging from the ceiling. "Back when Jase and I were rangers, we had a youth center in our town and that had all the work out equipment in the world. But, since this lovely town doesn't have anything like that, and Jason and I figured anyone we got to be part of the team would need some place to exercise and just generally blow off some steam, we set this place up," she said. She opened the door to the room, letting Kayleigh walk in before walking in herself.

"How...How can you afford all this?" Kayleigh asked, aghast. Kimberly smiled.

"Being part of the Pan Globals did provide some funding. Even though I left before I went onto the Olympics, I still was able to make a fair share of money. Jason had some money from doing a bunch of international peace conferences when we were younger, not to mention some inheritance. He used some of his money to buy his club, some of it here, I used some of my money to buy this house, and the rest in putting together this place." Kimberly recounted.

"All of this must've cost you like...millions or something," Kayleigh said. Kimberly shook her head.

"My mother always told me it's not polite to talk about money," Kimberly said. Kayleigh stared at her.

"Right. Sorry." Kay apologized as she looked around the room some more.

Kimberly laughed. "It's okay," she said. "So, what do you think?"

"I think I need to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming," Kayleigh muttered. Kimberly nodded.

"I felt the same way when I first became a ranger. I mean, being told it's your job to protect the world can be pretty overwhelming," she said. Kayleigh cocked an eyebrow at her.

"_Can be?"_ She asked.

"Okay, okay, it's incredibly huge," Kimberly said.

"Did you have doubts? Like, did you think you couldn't do it?"

"I was a spoiled rich California girl who's biggest worry was breaking a nail before first period...Of course I had my doubts," Kimberly said. She shrugged. "But I was with my friends, and I knew we could do it. Just like I know you can do it."

Kayleigh sighed and nodded. "All right. So...I guess we should start looking for potential teammates, right?" Kimberly smiled.

"Not tonight. I think you've had enough excitement for one day. Why don't you go out and have some fun, enjoy your Friday."

"All right," Kayleigh said. She looked down at her gem lying, suspended from its chain, against her chest. She reached up and traced her finger along the edge. "I guess I'll be seeing you," she said to Kimberly before walking out of the room.

---

Gabriella walked down the street on her way to the club Yamato told her about earlier that day. She had spent nearly an hour trying to figure out if she wanted to change her clothes or stay the way she was. After that decision had been made, then came trying to figure out what she would wear. She finally decided on keeping her weight tights and changing into a long black skirt and white short sleeved shirt, covered with a white cardigan sweater. Gabriella adjusted her glasses, pushing the frames up the bridge of her nose, as she came across the door to the club. She saw a short line of people waiting to get in and stood at the end of it. As the line move forward, she saw a blonde guy sitting on a stood by the door with a small flashlight that he shone on the IDs people showed him. Gabriella saw him put a stamp on some people's hands before letting them past through, and some were simply let in. As her turn was fast approaching, Gabriella fumbled in her purse for her wallet, fishing her ID out of one of the side pockets.

Once she reached the front of the line, the guy didn't even look at her before sticking his hand out for her ID. Gabriella handed it over and waited. He shone his flashlight on the card, before looking back at her, then looking back at the card again. _She looks like she's 16 or something._

"Is something wrong?" Gabriella asked. "I mean...the ID isn't...uh...fake or anything," she muttered. The guy looked at her. _Whatever, what do I care if the kid wants to get in?_

"Right," he said before handing it back to her. As Gabriella went to put it back in her wallet, she felt him take hold of her hand. Gabriella jumped slightly and stared at him.

"What are you doing?" She asked. The guy didn't answer as he brought the stamp down on the back of the palm, pressing it down for a few seconds before letting her go.

"To make sure you don't try to buy any drinks," he said.

"Oh, I don't drink," Gabriella said. The guy rolled his eyes.

"So this won't be a problem then, will it?" He said before gesturing her to go in. Gabriella nervously pulled some loose hair behind her ear before walking into the noisy club. She scanned the room, hoping to catch a glimpse of Yamato, but there was no sign of him amongst the crowd. She frowned slightly before finding a small empty table and making her way to it. She sat down and pulled off her sweater, letting it fall on the chair at her sides. She folded her arms on the table and looked around as she tried to make her self feel at home in this new environment. After a few minutes she quickly pulled her sweater back on and sat back, looking down nervously.

---

Kayleigh arrived home much quicker than she thought. She hurried up the steps to her room, excited to just be home. She unlocked her door and pushed it open to find Hannah standing in front of her mirror, putting the finishing touches on her make-up.

"Hey Hannah." Kay smiled as she hurried past her roommate and into her own part of the room.

"Hey Kay." Came the reply as she finished applying her lipstick. "I heard that you had a run in with Riley Kiet." Hannah commented, standing in the doorframe of Kay's room. Kay's head snapped up at the comment, a pink hue coming to her cheeks.

"That I did." She replied, smiling. "Although, you never told me that he was drop dead gorgeous or that he was coming by today! God if I would have known that, I could have had time to make myself look good!" Kayleigh laughed as she picked out a strapless red bar shirt and pulled it on over her head. Hannah frowned at her roommate.

"You think he's gorgeous?" She questioned. Kayleigh looked at her.

"My god… The words 'sex god' we're floating through my mind." She laughed. Hannah scrunched up her face.

"Personally, I don't think he's that good looking, so he's all yours." She replied, before moving back into her own room. Kay looked at Hannah's retreating form before looking in the mirror. She concentrated a moment before her jet black hair began to lighten into a dark brown with Carmel highlights. She slid her black Capri's over her hips, snapped her belt closed and jammed her feet into her black heels.

"Where are you going tonight Hannah?" Kay asked as she grabbed her ID and money off her dresser. Hannah shrugged.

"Mika and Shona want to go to that new club that just opened. Club Scott or something?" She shrugged her shoulders again. "It's supposedly the hottest place in town." She finished. Kay nodded.

"We'll I guess I'll see you there then!" She replied as she headed out of the room, the door closing softly behind her. Kayleigh walked down the sidewalk outside her building as she made her way back to her car. Once she got to it, she slid in and made her way to Jason's club.

---

Lydia walked around the club dressed in her work outfit, which wasn't much different from her outfit from before, except she had changed into a green short sleeved shirt. She had soon learned that it wasn't always a good idea to dress provocatively when around people, namely guys, who've been drinking. She made her way back to the bar, where she saw Zeke handing a patron their drink. Zeke looked up at he and smiled as she approached.

"Well, hello Lydia. Aren't you looking all kinds of lovely tonight," he said as she loaded her tray with drinks that had been ordered. Lydia grinned as she gave him a wink.

"Zeke, I don't know what you're talking about, I always look good," she said as she turned and walked away, making sure to add an extra sway to her hips for him.

Lydia brought the drinks to their corresponding tables before walking by the stage area where she saw Mat and his band mates setting up for their set. She walked up behind Mat as he was plugging in an amp and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Just thought you should know, the president of the chess club is here and has been watching you this whole time," she teased. Mat furrowed his brows and turned his head to the side to look at his friend.

"What?" He asked. Lydia chuckled and tilted her head to the side. Mat's eyes followed to where she was gesturing and saw Gabriella sitting at a table alone, looking down at her hands that were firmly placed on her lap.

"She was not watching me," Mat said. Lydia looked over to the girl before looking back at him.

"Well, she's not watching you now," Lydia said. Mat rolled his eyes.

"Whatever Lydz. Let me finish up here and go do your job," he said. Lydia playfully smacked his shoulder before she walked away. She tried to hide her smirk as she walked up to Gabriella's table.

"Hey there, can I get you anything?" She asked as she came up to the girl. Gabriella looked up at her.

"Oh...uh...I...um...ju-just water, thank you," she said. Lydia pursed her lips to keep from smirking again. _Water, of course,_ she thought to herself. Gabriella looked away.

"All right, Hun, I'll bring that right out," Lydia said as she walked away.

Before making her way to the bar, she went over by the door and stood behind Josh. "Having fun?" She asked. Josh didn't even look at her as he handed someone back their ID before letting them go in.

"What do you want?" He asked gruffly.

Lydia rolled her eyes. "Just coming by to see if you needed anything from the bar," she said.

"I'm fine," he said in a tone so curt that he might as well have been saying 'fuck off'.

Okay then," she said as she turned and walked back to the bar. _Asshole,_ she thought to herself.

"Back so soon?" Zeke asked as Lydia stood at the bar. "I knew it, you couldn't stand to spend another minute away from me," he joked. Lydia giggled.

"Maybe," she said coyly. "Anyway, need a water for Pollyanna over there," she said. Zeke looked past her and caught sight of Gabriella nervously twirling one of her braids in her finger.

"You are an evil, evil woman," Zeke laughed as he went to pour the glass. Lydia smiled.

"Isn't that part of my charm?" She asked. Zeke laughed and shook his head and handed the glass to her. Lydia grinned as she placed the water on the tray and headed towards where Gabby was sitting, still twirling her hair. Lydia placed the tray down on the table and removed the glass and placed it in front of Gabby.

"There you go. Let me know if you need anything else." Lydia smiled. Gabby gave a small, forced smile back.

"Thanks." Gabby replied softly. Lydia went to walk away but decided she'd have a little fun with the girl, as she sometimes did with other girls who had an attraction to her oldest and dearest friend.

"I'm Lydia, by the way," she said. Gabby looked at her.

"Gabriella," she said.

"Aw, that's a pretty name," Lydia replied.

"I guess," Gabby said. "But I guess Polly would better suit me, don't you think?" Lydia stared at her with a blank expression. "Hmm, no. Not Polly," Gabby said, she tilted her head as if she was deep in thought. "Pollyanna. Yeah, that'd probably suit me, hmm?" She asked. Lydia's eyes widened.

"Uh...I guess...Well, uh...it was nice meeting you...But I should really be getting back to work," she said. _She heard me talking to Zeke from all the way over here? What, does this girl got sonar hearing or something?_

"Yeah, nice meeting you too, Lydia," Gabby said as she watched Lydia walked away. She smirked a bit before turning her attention to her glass of water. She stirred the ice a bit with her straw before taking a sip.

The buzzing sound of amps turning on brought Gabby's attention back to the stage area where she saw Mat standing behind a microphone with a guitar hanging by a shoulder strap as two other guys plugged in their guitar and bass behind him, and another sat behind the drum set, while the last member sat behind his keyboard. The music that had been playing in the club became softer before it shut off completely.

"Hey everyone," Mat said into the microphone. "We're KEN-etic," he said. Gabby noticed a small group of barely dressed girls gathering before the stage.

"We love you Mat!" One of the girls yelled. Mat smiled and peered down at them.

"Thank you, girls," he said.

"Well, as I was saying," he said. "We're KEN-etic...and we're gonna play a few songs for you guys...so get up and dance, rock out, go crazy," he said. He adjusted the strap on his shoulder and plucked a few strings on his guitar before stopping. "All right then, you guys have been a great audience, good night" he said, making people laugh. Mat laughed. "Anyway, our first song is a little ditty we like to call I Can't Win...Because that's the name of the song," he said, making people laugh again.

Gabby watched intently as Mat leaned back from the microphone and played the opening chords of the song before the second guitar, bass and drums joined in. She watched with a small smile on her lips as he stepped forward, his lips mere inches from the microphone, with his eyes shut.

"Please don't talk about it, just leave it alone. What you need is too much for me, you can't squeeze blood from a stone..." he began to sing. The girls standing in front of the stage swayed their hips and tossed their hair about as they danced as the song went on.

By the time the song reached the bridge, there were a few more people dancing. Gabby recognized one of the new dancers as the girl who had bumped into her earlier that day.

The song soon ended to applause and hollering from the crowd. "Whoo!" Mat exclaimed as he finished the song. "Thank you, thank you," he said as the applause died down.

"Now, for something a little different. A little Flathead for you folks," he said as he started playing his guitar, with the drums playing a deep beat. Mat moved slightly with the up tempo beat. "Just because she feeds me well and made me talk dirty in a pink hotel, doesn't mean she's got eyes for me..." he sang, the dancing girls moving their hips to the change in tempo. The song went on with the bass and guitar players moving up to their microphones and singing along with Mat at the chorus. Gabby sat and watched this, briefly wondering if she should get up and be like the small group of girls gathered by the stage, she figured they were like the groupies of the band or something. _Maybe it'll get his attention_, she considered. She went to stand up. _Eh, no, the area looks pretty crowded_, she thought to herself as she quickly sat back down.

"Something wrong?" She heard someone ask. She looked up and saw Lydia standing by her.

"No," Gabby replied, shaking her head. "Just...uh...shifting in my chair," she said.

"Ah," Lydia then saw the empty water glass by the girl. "Can I get you another?" _Not driving, are you? _Lydia thought sarcastically to herself. Gabby blinked.

"Sure," she said, giving the waitress a tight smile.

"All righty then," Lydia said as she took the glass and walked back to the bar.

"All right you crazy kids," Mat said after the song was over. "This next song will be our last one for the night," he said. The groupies voiced their displeasure at this. "I know, I know, it sucks. But hey, even more reason to come out next Friday, right?" He kidded. The drummer behind him played a rim shot. "Thanks a lot, Barry," Mat muttered, laughing gently.

"Anyway, we're going to slow it down a bit now," Mat said. "It Ends Tonight," he said before the keyboard player started playing. "Your subtleties, they strangle me. I can't explain myself at all..." he sang as he slowly started to play his guitar and the rest of the instruments joined in.

Once the song was over, the crowd clapped. "Thank you, thank you very much. You guys have been great," Mat said before he and his band mates left the stage.

Mat and the band mates disappeared behind the stage area for a long while before Gabby saw the guitar, bass, keyboard and drum players appear and sit at one of the tables. Some time later, Mat re-appeared with his hair pulled back in a hair tie. He made his way to the bar and grabbed an extra order tray that was lying there.

Mat went to go off to some tables when he saw Gabby sitting there. He smiled and walked over to her.

"Hey," he said, "you made it," he said. Gabby gave a small nervous smile.

"Well...I...I said I would..." she said softly. "Uh...you...you were really good," she said. Mat smiled.

"Thanks," he said. He sighed as he waved the tray a bit. "But rock star time is over now, time for work," he said, joking slightly. "I'll talk to you later," he said as he walked off.

"O...oh...okay," Gabby said, blushing slightly at the idea of him possibly coming back to talk to her.

The music from the stereo system came back on in full swing and some people went back to dancing. Kayleigh walked over to the bar to get herself a drink. Kayleigh ordered herself a martini, showing her hand to the bartender so he could see that there wasn't a stamp on her hand. After he gave her the drink, she took a sip so as it wasn't so close to the rim and spill as she walked back to her table. She turned around to go back to her table and gasped as she bumped into someone, her drink splashing over the rim and hitting the person's shirt.

"Oh man, I-" she looked up and was surprised to come face to face with Riley. "Oh...I...uh, sorry" she said. She quickly set her drink on the bar and grabbed some napkins.

Riley smiled and took the napkins from her as he began to dap on the small wet spot on his shirt. "No problem," he said.

"I'm really sorry," Kayleigh said as she saw him give up on the spot and put the napkins on the table. "Is it a dry clean shirt? Cause...I'll so pay for it..." Riley laughed.

"Don't worry, it's nothing a round in the washing machine won't fix," he said.

"It's fine," he said. He looked at her before giving her a small smile. "Actually, there is something you could do to compensate for this," he said.

"What?" Kayleigh asked, retrieving her drink and taking a sip.

"Dance with me?" He asked, sticking his hand to her. Kayleigh blinked, slightly shocked. Riley frowned. "Aw come on, you're not going to bruise my ego after spilling your drink on me, are you?" He asked. Kayleigh giggled gently.

"Oh, no, sorry...I mean, yes, I'd love to dance with you," she said. She placed her hand in his and giggled softly as he led her to the dance floor. She set her drink down on a nearby table on her way to the dance floor with him.

Gabriella looked up as the drink was placed on her table while the girl in the red top went to the dance floor with a guy. She sat back and sipped solemnly on her water. Back on the dance floor, Riley threw an arm around Kayleigh's waist and pulled her close as the two slowly moved together to the music. Gabby watched them interact, her face falling slowly. The girl in red was absolutely beautiful and the guy she was dancing with, who one would automatically assume was her boyfriend, was just as handsome as his companion.

Gabby sighed as she silently wished she could be like that girl. She blinked and looked up, trying to see any sign of Mat. Her face fell completely when he saw him standing at a table filled with the groupie girls. He was smiling at them and putting his hands on some of their shoulders as the girls giggled. _What was I thinking_, she wondered. _As if he was really going to come back to talk to someone like me._

Gabby finished her glass of water before setting it down and walking over to the bar and getting the bartender's attention.

"Can I get you something? Another water?" He asked. Gabby shook her head.

"How much do I owe?" She asked, implying she had an intention of leaving. Zeke bit back a smile.

"Water's free, girl," he said. Gabby blushed.

"Oh..." she said. "Uh...so, just the cover charge, then? The guy at the door forgot to get it," she said. Zeke nodded and accepted the money she held out to him. "Do you also have the number for a cab company?" She asked. Zeke nodded.

"Sure, let me go get that for you," he said as he walked away. Gabby sighed as she leaned against the bar, waiting for his return. She heard the sound of a tray being placed on the bar beside her. She looked over and saw Lydia standing there, obviously waiting for Zeke's return. Lydia caught Gabby looking and gave the girl a smile, which Gabby returned tightly.

"Not leaving already, are you?" Lydia asked.

"It's getting late," Gabby replied.

"It's barely even ten yet," Lydia stated. Gabby sighed.

"That's late for me," she muttered.

Gabby looked down and waited for Zeke to come back with the number. Lydia took the hint that the girl didn't want to talk to her anymore. _Snob_, she thought to herself.

"Hey there, sweet thing," came a voice as Lydia felt someone come up behind her. Lydia turned her head and saw one of the patrons who had pretty much been the reason why she stopped dressing provocatively while working. "When do you get off? Cause I was thinking we could-"

"I'm here till closing, then I go home," she said in an even voice. The guy frowned.

"Aw, there's no reason to be mean," he said. Lydia rolled her eyes. She looked over and saw Gabby looking at her.

"Whatever, I'm working," she said to the guy. She went to step past him to make her way to the other end of the bar but felt him grab her wrist with such force that she dropped her order tray.

"I'm just trying to be friendly," the guy said. Lydia tightened her jaw as she tried to pull her arm free.

"Not interested in your friendliness," Lydia said, not having much progress in getting free.

"Uh...ma...maybe you sh-should leave her alone," Lydia heard someone say. She looked over and saw Gabby standing by them. The guy looked at the small girl and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Stay out of this, shorty," he said, using his free hand to push her back. She stumbled backwards, her foot catching on the edge of the bar, making her trip and land on her backside. The guy snickered. "Loser," he said. Gabby looked down as she pulled herself back to her feet, tears tickling her eyes. She felt a hand on the small back and looked up to see Mat standing behind her.

"You okay?" He asked. Gabby nodded silently. Mat nodded, satisfied with her response before going over to Lydia. He stepped in between Lydia and the guy, forcing him to finally let go of her. "Look buddy, the lady's not interested, so why don't you just do all of humanity a favor and crawl back into the cave you came from."

The guy narrowed his eyes into thin angry slits. "Fine," he said as he turned to leave. _You want to mess with me, rockstar? I'll show you not to mess..._ Gabby's eyes widened as she stepped back.

By this time, a small crowd had started to form around what was going on. _Look out, he's got a knife!_ A female voice in Mat's head screamed. Mat looked up and put his arms out just as the guy tried to swing a box cutter at him. Mat grabbed his arm and slammed it against the bar, making the guy cry out before dropping his weapon. Mat twisted his arm behind his back and looked towards the door.

"Hey, Josh! Mind coming over and doing the job you're paid for?" He yelled. Josh came over and roughly took hold of the injured guy before dragging him to the door. Mat sighed and leaned against the bar as the crowd clapped for him. He felt Lydia put a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" She asked. Mat nodded. He looked over to the crowd and frowned when he saw someone missing.

"Where'd she go?" He asked.

"Who?" Lydia asked.

"That girl...Gabriella..." Mat said. Lydia searched the crowd and shook her head.

"She must've run out," she said. Mat looked around once more, sighing lightly.

"That sucks. I wanted to thank her." Lydia looked at him.

"Why?" She questioned, disbelief in her voice. Mat looked at his best friend.

"Well Lyds, she did save my life, so I think that I at least owe her a thank you." He replied.

"Saved your life?" Lydia asked. "What are you talking about?" Mat looked at her incredulously.

"Wasn't she the one who said the guy had a knife?" Mat asked. Lydia's brows furrowed. "I thought it was her...it sounded like her..."

"Mattie...no one said anything about a knife..." She said. Mat stared at her.

"Very funny, Lydz," he said. "But I heard it. Someone said 'look out, he's got a knife'." Lydia shook her head.

"I'm serious, Mat, no one said anything," she said. She squeezed his shoulder. "Are you sure you're okay?" She asked. Mat blinked and looked at her.

"Uh...yeah," he said. "I guess I just...thought I heard someone scream..." he muttered. Around them, the crowd began to disperse as people returned to their tables after the excitement.

"Hey," where'd that Pollyanna girl go?" Zeke asked as he came back, holding a business card. "She wanted the number for a cab..." Lydia shrugged, while Mat didn't even hear him, his mind was too distracted by trying to figure out what had just happened.

"You missed it, Zeke," Lydia said. "Mat just swooped in and kicked some ass," she said. She bent down and picked up her tray before seeing a small white wallet on the floor. She picked it up and placed it on the bar. "Hey, looks like someone just fed the lost and found," she said. Zeke took the wallet and placed it in the box under the bar.

Mat blinked as his senses returned and he looked at Lydia. "You know, Lydz, you should thank her too," he said. Lydia looked at him.

"What?" She asked.

"Gabby," Mat said.

"And why, pray tell, should I thank her?" Lydia said as she loaded her tray with drinks. Mat went over to her.

"Because she tried to help out," he said. Lydia frowned and looked at him.

"What? By stuttering and stammering at the guy and getting herself knocked on her ass?" She asked. Mat looked at her in disbelief.

"She stood up for you when you were being harassed. God forbid that you get past the fact that she's probably not the most popular person in the world. She defended you when you treated her like absolute garbage." Mat snapped back at Lydia before turning on his heel and stalking away. Lydia stood there, mouth agape trying to think of something to say, but no words came to her. She nearly jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder and spun around to see her boss standing behind her.

"Mr. Scott, you scared me," she said, placing a hand on her chest.

"Sorry," he said. "Was in my office, heard all the commotion going on...Are you okay?" He asked. Lydia nodded.

"Yeah. Mat and Josh took care of the guy," she said. Jason nodded.

"I saw Josh escorting the guy out. Apparently someone called the cops while all this was going on."

"Is everything okay?" Lydia asked.

"Yeah," Jason said with a nod. "A cruiser just came and the cops took the guy in and got an account of what happened from Josh," he said. Lydia nodded.

"Okay," she said. Jason patted her shoulder.

"Hey, if you feel shaken up, you can leave early," he said. Lydia shook her head.

"No, no, I'm fine, really," she said. Jason nodded and moved forward slightly as someone crashed into him.

"Oh shit, I'm sorry!" Came the female voice. Jason turned around and came face to face with Kayleigh. Her face paled slightly.

"Uh Ja…Mr. Scott… I didn't know you'd be here tonight." She commented. Jason nodded.

"Yes, I had to come oversee some things. Anything I can help you with?" He asked. Kay shook her head.

"No, no. I'm just going to get another drink." She replied. Jason chuckled.

"Play safe." He grinned before walking away.

Kayleigh watched him leave before she felt a hand slide against her arm. She looked over and saw Riley standing behind her.

"Hey," he said. Kayleigh smiled.

"Hey," she said, leaning back against him a bit, making it seem like she just wanted to be closer to hear him over the music.

"I've got early morning practice tomorrow, so I should get going," he said. Kayleigh did her best to hide her smile. "This was fun," he said. He leaned over her shoulder and placed a kiss on the side of her cheek, causing Kayleigh's eyes to widen and her cheeks to redden. "Hope we can do it again sometime," he said before leaving.

Kayleigh watched him leave, placing her hand on her cheek where he had kissed her. She smiled, feeling tingles all throughout her body.

"My, my, you just met the guy and already you're getting lip action?" Said a voice, Kayleigh turned and saw Hannah standing nearby, a smirk gracing her features. "Kay, you little hussy," she said. Kayleigh laughed.

"It was just a kiss on the cheek." She replied. Hannah laughed.

"Even still!" She replied, grinning. Kayleigh laughed and walked over to Hannah, linking her arm with hers as they walked back to the table Hannah was sharing with her friends so Kayleigh could join them.

---

Kayleigh groaned as the sunlight hit her through her window. She slowly got up and stumbled to the window, pulling the curtains shut. "Ugh...that's it...no more drinking...ever..." she muttered.

She shuffled over to her mirror and saw that she was still wearing her club outfit. Her hair was sticking up on all ends, looking like a poorly made birds nest that had just been hit by a tornado. There were dark circles under her eyes from her eye makeup smudging in her sleep.

Kayleigh ran her hands along her hair, trying to flatten out the unrully mess, but having very little success. "Screw this," she muttered. She closed her eyes as her hair slowly converted into neat and orderly curls and the makeup on her face faded. She opened her eyes and looked in the mirror. "Hmm, much better," she said. She grabbed a hair tie and pulled her curls back into a ponytail. She changed into jeans and a red tank top and grabbed a bottle of water from her mini-fridge before sitting down on her bed and enjoying some early morning cartoons.

She was about to sink into the warmth of her bed when she heard her cell phone go off. "...It is unholy to call someone on a Saturday at..." she looked at her watch, expecting it to be at least 7am. "...10am..." she groaned. She sighed and walked over to her desk, answering her phone. "Hello?"

"Kayleigh? Hi, it's Kimberly," was the reply on the phone. Kayleigh made a face at how strange it was to hear her first name instead of Coach Hart. This of course told her that her reasons for the call weren't to do with the gymnastics team. "Jason just gave me a call; he said there was something we definitely needed to see. Can you come over?"

"Uh..." Kayleigh said, feeling less than thrilled that her Saturday had just been ruined. "Yeah," she said.

"Good," Kimberly said before hanging up. Kayleigh sighed and took a long swig of her water before grabbing her sunglasses and car keys and leaving the room. She headed down the steps and just as she reached the door for outside, she put her sunglasses over her eyes and stepped out into the bright morning sunlight.

"Goddamnit, why is it so bright out?" She muttered as she headed towards her car. She reached her car, climbed in and turned it on. The music blasted out of the radio and Kayleigh groaned before turning it down significantly.

"I'm gonna hurt you Mika." She muttered under her breath as she searched her glove compartment for her bottle of aspirin. She found it, popped two and took a swig of the bottled water she brought with her.

She drove to Kimberly's house, remembering the address from yesterday. Once she got there, she only saw Kimberly's car parked in the driveway, meaning Jason hadn't arrived yet. She parked her car and got out, going to the front door and knocking. A few seconds later, Kimberly opened the door and let her in.

"Nice shades," Kimberly said. Kayleigh sighed.

"Don't ask," she said. Kimberly chuckled. "So, what's this thing that Jason wanted to show us?" Kimberly shrugged.

"He didn't say. Just that it was important," she said. "Want some breakfast?" She offered. Kayleigh smiled and nodded as she followed the older woman to the kitchen.

---

Mat walked around campus, his head still trying to comprehend what had happened the night before. _How come no one else heard it? _He wondered. _I mean...it was loud...clear as day..._ he sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He stopped as he turned a corner and saw Gabby sitting on a bench and eating an apple. He tucked his hair behind his ear before walking up behind the bench. Just as he was by the bench, he saw Gabby quickly look up behind her, looking at him. The suddenness of her action made Mat jump a little.

"Hey," he said, giving her a half smile.

"Hi," Gabby said. She adjusted her glasses and turned back forward. Mat figured it was all right to join her. He sat down beside her. He watched as she sat there dressed in a white short sleeved shirt and blue overalls, quietly eating her apple, nervously wiping her mouth with the back of her free hand. Mat noticed that the stamp from the club was still on her hand and couldn't help chuckle a bit. Gabby looked at him.

"You know, you're supposed to wash that off," he said. Gabby looked down at her hand and blushed, feeling foolish.

"Oh right, I forgot," she said.

"Understandable," he said. "Last night was pretty crazy," he said. Gabby nodded. "But it's not usually that hectic...I mean, sure, the club's only been opened for about two months, but I can safely tell you that those two months have been pretty tame," he assured her.

"Oh," Gabby said, before shrugging. "It's not really my place anyway," she added. "I'm not really the...um...go out and party...type..." she said.

"Oh," Mat said. He looked at her closely. Gabby looked at him.

"What?" She asked.

"Huh?" He asked, before blinking. "Oh...nothing...uh, was just wondering if you were okay, after last night, I mean," he said. Gabby nodded.

"Yeah...don't know if I'll be practicing my Good Samaritan act anytime soon, but other than that I'm fine," she said, giving a small rueful chuckle

"Yeah...Well...I'm sure Lydia appreciates you trying to help her out," he said.

"Emphasis on the word 'trying'," Gabby muttered. She sighed. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah," Mat said. "The guy didn't get me or anything," he said. He paused. "The weirdest thing happened though," he said.

"Oh?" Gabby asked, looking down and putting her attention back to her apple.

"Yeah...I...I know this is going to sound weird but...I knew the guy was going to pull a knife out. Like...someone told me," he said.

"Oh?" Gabby asked.

"Yeah...like, I heard someone scream he had a knife...but the weird thing is that no one else heard it. I mean, Lydia said no one said anything, but I could've sworn I heard it," he said. _She has to know something about it, _he thought to himself.

"Uh...well...I...I once read somewhere that like...everyone has a sixth sense for danger...you know, the whole hair standing at the back of your neck kind of thing...Maybe something told you this guy wasn't just going to back off..." Gabby said.

"...Yeah, but it wasn't like I sensed it...I heard someone say it...It kind of sounded like you, to be honest," he said.

Gabby gasped softly as her apple dropped from her hand. "Uh...well...wow...that is weird..." she stammered, standing up quickly. "Well, I've got to go, it was nice talking to you," she said as she quickly went to leave. Mat stood up and went after her.

"Hey, wait," he said, making her stop and turn back to him. "Uh...did you..." he paused. _No way, that sounds crazy..._ "Uh, lose your wallet last night?" He asked. "Lydia found one, after the incident and...just wondering if it was yours..."

"Uh...I might have..." she said. "I mean, I couldn't find my wallet this morning...I thought I left it in the cab or something...What did it look like?"

"It was this little white shiny wallet with a sipper on the outside," he said. Gabby looked relieved.

"Yeah, that's mine," she said. "So, it's at the club?"

"Yeah," he said. "If you want, I can take you there now and we can get it," he offered.

"Oh...uh...okay, sure," she said, nervously shoving her hands in the back pockets of her overalls. Mat smiled and walked over to her, leading her to where his car was parked.

---

By the time Kim and Kayleigh had finished eating breakfast, Jason had arrived. He grabbed a cup of coffee and the three of them headed downstairs into the basement. As Jason placed his mug next to the keyboard, he looked at Kay.

"So how did you feel this morning Kay?" He asked, a smile twitching at his cheeks. Kay blushed a deep red and muttered an inaudible response. Kim looked at her protégé and oldest friend with a look of confusion on her face.

"Did I miss something?" She questioned. Jason laughed, causing Kay to blush even harder.

"Kay was at the club last night." He commented, not making any reference to what she'd done the night before. Kay gave her predecessor a look of thanks as Kim looked at her.

"Don't worry Kim, I didn't do anything stupid." Kayleigh defended. Kim seemed happy with the answer and moved towards the consol.

"So what is it that you have to show us Jason?" Kim questioned. Jason smiled. "Ah, right," he said. He went over to the shoulder bag he had brought with him and pulled out two video tapes.

"Home movies?" Kayleigh asked. Jason chuckled.

"Not exactly," he said. "When I first bought the club and did all the legal stuff...you know, insurance and what not, my company made me put in surveillance cameras in it...I mean, it was either that or have one hell of a premium to pay."

"Okay...what's your point?" Kimberly asked.

"Just watch," he said. He went over and put one of the tapes in a tape deck that was in the main console. Soon, one of the monitors began to play. On the screen was just the backroom of the club.

"What is this?" Kayleigh asked.

"Just keep watching," Jason said. After a few seconds, the door to the room opened as someone walked into the room. Jason paused the video.

"That's Yamato Kenji," he informed. "He works at the club and his band plays there sometimes," he said before letting the video go on. They watched as Yamato picked up a few rolls of paper towels and walked over to the tall shelf. "And this is where it gets interesting," Jason said. Kayleigh and Kimberly's mouths fell agape as they watched Yamato float above ground as he started placing the rolls on the top of the shelf.

"Oh my god," Kayleigh said, shocked.

"Looks like you're not the only one with special powers," Kimberly remarked.

"Oh, keep watching, it gets even better," Jason said. The women did as they were told and soon saw the door start to open, suddenly, Mat fell down to the ground as someone else walked in. "That's Lydia Washington, she works as a waitress at the club,"

They watched as the two looked to be talking before Mat again floated above to the shelf.

"He's using his ability right in front of her?" Kayleigh asked, amazed.

"He's not the only one," Jason said. Kimberly and Kayleigh sat back in shock as they saw Lydia's arm stretch out and grab a roll from the floor and reach up to put it on the shelf before letting it recede to it's normal length.

"Oh my god..." Kayleigh whispered. "Two of them?" Jason stopped the tape and took it out of the deck, replacing it with the second one. "Possibly three," he said.

He played the tape, letting the image of the incident that went on in the club last night play.

"Wait, this is just that incident with the aggressive guy from last night," Kayleigh said. Having been at the club, she saw what happened and didn't understand why Jason was playing the tape now.

"Just watch, keep your eye on this girl over here," Jason said, pointing at the girl who was just knocked down by the guy.

"What about her?" Kimberly asked. Jason rolled his eyes.

"Would you two stop being so impatiant? Just watch." Jason said. The two watched as Mat tried to diffuse the situation and the guy turned away as if he were leaving. "Watch how Mat somehow already knows something's going to happen before the guy fully turns around," he said. Surely enough, he was right. Mat stuck out his hands a few seconds before the guy turned back with the knife. As he disarmed the guy, they watched as the girl quickly pushed through the crowd and ran out of the club.

"I don't get it," Kimberly said as Jason let the tape keep running to the image of Mat looking around the crowd.

"I didn't either, at first," Jason said. "But something just struck me as a little off. How did Mat know to be ready for the knife? Why did that girl take off like a bat out of hell after it happened?"

Kayleigh reached over and rewound the tape, getting another look at the girl.

"I know her," she said. Jason and Kimberly looked at her. "Well, not really...I mean, I bumped into her yesterday after...well, after you dropped that bombshell on me in your office," Kayleigh said to Kimberly.

"I still don't see how this means anything," Kimberly said.

"I don't know...just...something tells me she knew what was going to happen..." Jason said. Kayleigh shrugged.

"Maybe… But what's this supposed to mean?" She questioned. Jason looked at her.

"These people have powers, similar to yours. It might just mean that the gems could react with them." He finished. Kay looked at him.

"So we're back at square one. Am I supposed to just run around holding out the gems being all like 'Don't be afraid of the freak running after you! I just want you to touch the pretty stone!'?" Kayleigh questioned, her hands on her hips. Kim snorted from beside her, while Jason raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you were at the club last night. Did you get anything off of them when you were around them?" Jason asked.

"I don't know," Kayleigh said.

"I wasn't really around any of them...except for the guy when he brought some drinks to the girls at my table," she said.

"And?" Kimberly asked.

"Well...I don't know, I guess I...He seemed familiar...but I just figured that I'd seen him around campus or something," she said. Kimberly and Jason both gave her looks, causing her to groan and throw her hands up in frustration. "Hey, how was I supposed to know I was possibly in the presence of a possible teammate?" Kim and Jason looked at Kay.

"Well maybe…" Kim started. Kayleigh shook her head.

"No, do not tell me that I have to carry around the gems." Kay replied, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Maybe you'd get a better idea if you did," Kimberly said, shrugging slightly.

"Oh my god, do you know how weird I'm going to look? Carrying around four little necklaces every where I go? No, no fricken way. I am putting my foot down," she said, turning away from them, annoyed.

Jason sighed and rubbed his face. "Are you sure Mat's the only one you got a reading off of?"

"I don't even know if it was a reading," Kayleigh said. "I just felt like I knew him...who knows, maybe I had a class with him in freshman year and I just don't remember...Or I sat beside him at orientation, I don't flipping' know!"

"Okay, okay," Kimberly said, standing up and walking over to Kayleigh. She put her hands on her shoulders. "Let's all just calm down," she said.

Kayleigh let her shoulder's slump as she heaved a deep sigh and ran her hand over her face. Suddenly, something struck her. "Hang on a sec," she said, turning back and walking over to the console.

"Play the part where Mat took care of the jerk," she said. Jason nodded and rewound the tape. He stopped it just when Mat slammed the guy's arm to the bar. "No, back a bit more," she said. Jason rewound it to a little before the incident, when the guy was turning away. "Pause it, right there," she said. Jason did so. Kayleigh looked at the screen.

"What is it?" Kimberly asked, walking over. Kayleigh pointed at the screen, her finger landing on the girl with the braids. "She's backing away," she said.

"Yeah, and?" Kimberly asked.

"Well, to everyone else, it looked like the situation had already been dealt with, no more problems. So why is she backing away?"

"I'm not following," Jason said.

"Let it play for a little bit," she said. Jason did so. "Right there," she said. "Before Mat stuck his arms out, he looked to the side, for like a second...As if someone said something."

"As far as I know, Mat just reacted to the knife being swung at him," Jason said. "No one said anything."

"Maybe not out loud," Kayleigh said.

"Come again?" Kimberly said.

Kayleigh stepped back. "When I bumped into that girl yesterday, I knocked her over. When I was helping her gather her papers up, she had this weird look on her face."

"...Okay, Kayleigh can you possibly come to a point anytime soon?" Jason asked.

"When I knocked her down, I was still thinking about what Kimberly just told me...I remember thinking something like...uh...oh god, what was it..." she muttered as she tried to think. "Oh, got it. I thought something like about how power rangers are supposed to be coordinated...and that's when she gave me this weird look."

Kimberly and Jason's eyes lit up. "It was almost as if she heard me," Kayleigh concluded

"So...what you're saying is, you think this girl can read minds?" Kimberly asked.

"Which...would explain how she knew that guy had the knife," Jason said. "She started to back away because she was afraid something was going to happen."

"And if she can read minds, maybe she can also send messages to people. Which would explain how Mat knew to be ready," Kayleigh said.

"All right then," Jason said, sitting back. "But this still doesn't help us. We might have three people who have powers like you, but we still need to figure out if they can be rangers." Kayleigh was silent for a moment.

"Maybe we should go back to the club and see if the gems react with them then?" She questioned. Jason looked at her.

"That, is a perfect idea. Lets get going."

---

Meanwhile, in a fortress high above the earth, a shrouded figure sat on a throne, his long, talon like fingers, traced the edge of the armrests. A soft knock was heard in the room.

"Enter," the creature bellowed. In entered a small, thin creature with wrangled yellow skin.

"Ah, Sajno, what news do you bring me?" He asked. Sajno carefully approached the throne. "Lord Hefaris, we've learned that they have recruited someone to be a ranger," he said. Hefaris groaned.

"Those two retired rangers are proving to be more trouble than I like," he said. He held up a chain, letting the small black gem on it dangle in the air. "What of the other task I gave you?" He asked.

"We've learned of others who possess powers...Any of which would be a fine candidate, my lord," Sajno said.

"Well?" Hefaris said. "Why the devil are you standing here? Send some Rasprites down and get them!" Sajno took several shaky steps back as Hefaris slapped his fist on the arm rest of the throne.

"Ri...right. Ye-yes, my lord, right away," he said as he scurried away.

---

Lydia sighed as she dragged the broom across the floor of the club. Mat was supposed to meet her over an hour ago to help her open up the club, but she was unable to reach him. Josh was busy across the club, putting away some of the band equipment left from the night before.

"Where's your buddy?" He called over to her. Lydia looked over to him. "Shouldn't he be here helping out?" Lydia sighed and shrugged.

"No clue. His phone keeps going straight to voicemail, and when I tried calling his place, one of his roommates said he wasn't there." Josh snorted.

"Probably with one of his dumb groupies." He commented loudly. Lydia turned and shot him a look.

"Jealous much?" She replied as she continued to sweep the floor.

Josh rolled his eyes. "Sounds like you're the one who's jealous," he said.

Lydia furrowed her brows. "Excuse me?"

Josh shrugged as he moved one of the amps to the side, straining as he did so. "It's got to suck...Mat being surrounded by all those girls and him not even looking at you," he said.

Lydia snorted before laughing hysterically. "You...oh my god," she said through her laughter. "You think I like Mat?"

Josh looked at her. "Well don't you?"

"No!" She exclaimed. "God...that'd be like...so wrong," she said. She gave a small shudder. "Mat's like my brother. Crushing on him would probably verge pretty close to being incestuous or something." Josh looked at her.

"Could've fooled me." Josh stepped off the stage and walked over to the bar, passing her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked. Josh got behind the bar and poured himself a glass of water.

"The two of you are always together...you're always touching him...he 'swooped' in to save poor damsel in distress Lydia last night," he said before taking a sip of water.

"He's like my brother," she stated. "We grew up together. I mean, even played in the sandbox together when we were toddlers. Besides, the only reason he 'swooped' in, was because you were doing a piss poor job of...well, doing your job."

Josh seemed to flinch at that and looked down. "I was busy," he muttered.

"Whatever," Lydia said. "Besides, why do you care if I like Mat anyway?"

"I don't," Josh said as he downed the rest of his water and put the glass on the counter.

Lydia groaned and tossed the broom aside. She walked over and leaned against the bar.

"Oh, I forget, Mr. Joshua Wilson is too good to associate with other human beings by actually having a conversation," she said. Josh snorted.

"I'm the one with a superiority complex? Yeah, whatever...Hello, pot, I'm kettle...oh you say I'm black?" He said.

"What are you talking about? I do not have a superiority complex," she said.

"Yeah, sure, whatever. I've seen you talk about some girls here, basically rip them to shreds just because their purse just might not match their shoes," he said as she stepped out from behind the bar and made his way back to the stage.

Lydia frowned. "So I have a few opinions about fashion? What's the big deal?" She asked. Josh chuckled and shook his head.

"You wouldn't know what kindness was if it..." he said as he looked at her, his voice trailing off. Lydia looked at him.

"What? I wouldn't know what kindness was if what?" She asked. Josh's eyes widened as he seemed to stare at something behind her.

"Lydia," he said softly as his hand slowly went to a microphone stand.

"What?" Lydia snarled.

"Duck!" Josh yelled as he heaved the stand towards her. Lydia screamed as instinct took over and her arms stretched over her head and grabbed onto one of the ceiling rafters. She pulled herself up.

"What the hell is your problem!" She screamed, looking down at Josh, who was now staring at her like she had just grown a second head. "Oh...shit..." She muttered, realizing she had just used her powers in front of someone who wasn't Mat. She looked down and saw a strange looking brown creature with purple armor and a matching mask holding something that looked like a small dagger, stumble back against the bar stools. "Oh my god," she said. She looked over at Josh and nearly shrieked at the sight of several more of those things appearing behind him. Josh swung around and ducked as one tried to swing its dagger at him.

"What the hell!" He yelled as he moved towards the bar. Lydia grabbed a bar stool and threw it at one of the monsters.

"What are those things?" Lydia exclaimed.

"No clue...but they keep coming," he said as he saw more and more of the creatures appearing, seemingly rising out of the floor.

Lydia felt her grip on the rafter slipping. She gave a shriek as she began to fall. Josh looked up and quickly moved forward to catch her. Lydia looked up at him.

"Thanks," she said. Josh said nothing as he set her down on the ground

"How'd you do that?" He asked.

"While a bunch of creepy looking things are looking like they want our heads...so not a good time for explanations.." she said. She and Josh quickly jumped apart as one of the creatures charged towards them.

---

Mat slowed his car down to a halt and parked in front of the club's entrance.

"Are you sure it's okay to be here this early?" Gabby asked as she climbed out of his car. Mat nodded as he climbed out as well.

"Yeah, this is around the time we're supposed to be starting to open up, so no worries," he said. He walked around the front of his car and made his way to the door with Gabby following him.

"Okay," she said. Mat opened the door.

"After you," he said, smiling. Gabby smiled and went to walk in, only to stop suddenly, a frightened look on her face. "What's wrong?" Mat asked.

Gabby looked at him. "I...It..." she began, but was cut off by a scream coming from inside.

Mat's eyes widened as he quickly rushed in.

"Wait, no, don't go in there!" Gabby warned, but it was too late. She opened the door and went in after him.

"What… the hell?" Mat questioned as soon as he reached the main room. Josh and Lydia were cornered near the bar with what seemed to be hundreds of thin ugly monsters surrounding them.

Gabby rushed in and came to a stop behind him. "What's going on here?" Mat asked.

"Your guess is as good as ours, man," Josh said. Gabby stepped back and went to run back out, only to have her path cut off by two of the creatures blocking the doorway.

"AHH!" Gabby screamed. Mat turned towards her and saw the two creatures. One of them grabbed Gabby by the wrist and spun her towards it, throwing the other arm around her neck.

"Hey!" Mat exclaimed. He took a step towards the creatures when the other slammed its foot into his midsection. Mat grunted as the force of the blow made him sail backwards a few feet, falling flat on the dance floor.

"Mat!" Lydia exclaimed. She narrowed her eyes and glared at the creatures surrounding herself and Josh. "That's it, no one, and I mean no one, messes with my friend," she said. She balled her hands into fists and stretched out her arms, punching a few of the creatures around her. Josh looked at her before grabbing a nearby barstool and bashing it across the head of one of the creatures. Gabby was too busy struggling against the creature holding her to take notice of what was going on.

Lydia stretched her legs, elevating herself as her arms stretched, allowing her to flip over the horde of creatures as Mat slowly pulled himself up to his feet. Josh was busy grabbing one of the fallen creatures by the leg and using it to hit the remaining creatures.

Once Lydia was over the horde, she stalked over to the fallen microphone stand and picked it up, making her way to Gabby and the two creatures.

"Hey Pollyanna," Lydia said, causing Gabby to look up. "Duck." Gabby doubled over as Lydia swung the stand, catching both of the creatures in the head. The creatures fell to the ground, their grips on Gabby loosening, allowing the girl to quickly crawl away from them. She stood up and looked over to the dance floor, surprised to see that Mat was no longer there, instead he was helping Josh fight the remaining creatures.

She felt Lydia grab her arm and pull her back towards the dance floor with her. Gabby looked over and saw four new creatures appearing where the two had fallen.

"What are these things?" Gabby exclaimed.

"Hey, you pretty much know as much as we do," Lydia said. The two jumped at the sound of a roar behind them. They turned towards the stage and saw a few more creatures there.

"There's too many of them," Mat said as he and Josh continued fighting them.

"No shit, Sherlock," Josh replied as he grabbed one of them by the front and slammed it's head against the bar. Over by the girls, a few of the creatures charged at them. One of them slammed it's foot against Lydia's chest, knocking her back against the steps separating the bar and dance floor, while the other got Gabby at the side of the head, making her slide on the ground and collide with some tables.

Gabby curled up as the tables tipped over and fell over her. Lydia looked over and reached out, stretching her arms as she grabbed the tables and used them to hit some of the creatures.

Over by the bar, the guys were able to dispose of a good percentage of the creatures. Lydia was able to beat a few up them down with the tables before she stood up and went over to Gabby, lifting the dazed girl to her feet. Suddenly Suddenly one of the creatures by the stage lift up a large amp, holding it over its head before hurling it towards the girls.

"Look out!" Josh and Mat said. Mat threw aside the creature he was handling and soared across the room as fast as he could. He grabbed both Lydia and Gabby by the waist and floated up towards the ceiling with them in tow.

He looked down and nearly gasped in shock at the sight below them. There was Josh, holding the amp high over his head, as if it were a mere pillow or something just as light. He stepped back and hurled the amp right back at the creature, taking out a few others with it.

"Oh my god..." Lydia breathed. Mat slowly drifted back to the floor, noticing that the creatures by the bar and the entrance to the club had disappeared, as well as the ones pinned down by the amp.

Josh looked at the three of them as Mat let go of Lydia before turning his attention to Gabby

"You okay?" He asked. Gabby looked around the room, her legs feeling a little shakey beneath her, before nodding.

"Ye...yeah. Just a little dizzy, but I'm okay," she said. Lydia and Josh faced them, the four of them standing in a form of a circle.

"...How did you do that?" Lydia asked Josh. "I mean, you caught that amp like it was nothing."

"Probably the same way you were able to reach the tables all the way across the room, and Mat here was able to pull a Superman on you two Lois Lanes," Josh said.

"So...the three of us..." Mat muttered.

_Make that four _said a voice in Josh, Mat and Lydia's heads. The three of them stared at Gabby.

"Did you just..." Josh said, his voice trailing off. She nodded.

"I knew it! I knew I heard you last night!" Mat exclaimed. Gabby gave a sheepish smile before nodding. Her smile quickly faded as she saw something behind Josh's shoulder. She grabbed a nearby chair and stepped forward, shoving Josh aside, the other three quickly turned just in time to see Gabby swing the chair to the head of a creature. The creature fell to the floor and quickly disappeared. She threw the chair aside and turned around to re-face the group. The sound of high heels clicking on the floor alerted them that they were no longer alone. A female dressed in black jeans and a red tank top appeared in the doorway.

"Well, you guys made my job a ton easier." She commented. They looked at her, questioning looks crossing all their faces.

Two more people joined her, Jason and another woman who looked about his age. Jason stepped towards them.

"Wow," he said. "Now, Mat and Lydia...we already knew about you two...we had our suspicions about you," he said, looking at Gabby before bringing his eyes to Josh. "But you...total surprise," he said.

"What?" Lydia asked.

"And look," the young girl said, bringing the other's attention back to her, they saw her holding up four necklaces with different colored glowing gems on them. "All four gems are reacting," she said.

Gabby squeezed her eyes shut as she felt herself swaying slightly. She shook her head and looked at the girl. "You..." she said. "You're that crazy girl...the one who thought she was a power ranger..." she said. Kayleigh frowned.

"Well, I guess that removes any doubt about her powers," Kayleigh said. Mat took a step towards Gabby.

"Gabby?" He asked, noticing her less that sturdy composure. Gabby closed her eyes as she felt herself falling backwards.

Jason quickly stepped forward and caught the girl before she fell back.

"What's wrong with her?" Kimberly asked worriedly as she and Kayleigh went over to them.

"One of those things kicked her in the head," Lydia said. Kim looked at the group.

"Bring her along with us. I have something you should all see." She commented, heading out of the building.

"Wait," Josh said, "hang on. We're not going anywhere," he said.

Kimberly stopped and turned towards him. "Oh?" She asked.

"Are you kidding?" Lydia asked. "First an army of freaky looking things try to kick our asses, then skinny white girl over there holds up a bunch of glowing rocks, and you expect us to go with you? How do we know you people aren't involved with this? Maybe you sent those things after us."

_It's not nice to read people's minds without their permission,_ she thought. Gabby gave a weak chuckle. _True, but what's the fun in asking for it?_ She asked. Kimberly's smile widened at that. _So, what do you know? _Kimberly asked. _Nothing, head's pounding too much to make sense of anything._

"What's going on?" Josh asked. Gabby blinked and looked at her new comrades.

"We need to go with them," she said. Mat looked at her.

"Are you sure?" He asked. Gabby nodded. "All right, I guess we'll follow you guys in my car," he said, casting a look at the other three.

"Excellent," Kayleigh said as she and Jason followed Kimberly out of the club. The group of four looked at each other before following them out into the parking lot. Josh, Mat, Lydia and Gabby climbed into Mat's car, while Kayleigh climbed into her own. Jason and Kim slid into Jason's jeep, and they headed towards the edge of town… To Kim's house.

Once they all reached Kimberly's house, everyone parked their cars. Josh and Mat got out of the front seats and helped a still somewhat dazed Gabby out of the back as Lydia followed. The other three led the way into the house, past the living room, past the stairs, past the kitchen and to the door. Jason, Kimberly and Kayleigh walked down the stairs before Lydia went down, followed by Josh who was then followed by Gabby, and lastly Mat.

"Hang onto the banister," Mat told Gabby as they descended the stairs before coming to the big room.

"Whoa," Lydia breathed out as the four of them looked around the room. "What is this place?"

"I think I need to sit down," Gabby said softly. Mat nodded and took her arm, leading her to a nearby chair and letting her sit down.

"Maybe we should wait until all of you are a hundred percent," Jason said.

"I'm okay," Gabby assured. She rubbed her fingertips against her temples and breathed in slowly.

"Alright." Kim began. "Kayleigh has heard this already, but here's the scoop." She moved around the room slowly, talking as she went.

"Jason and myself hand-picked Kayleigh to lead you, and we decided that in order to be the team that we need in order to save the world, we needed four more members. And now we've found them. I'm hoping, that you'll each do the right thing, and take the necklaces that Kay has and accept the fact that you have special abilities and you were picked for a reason."

"Whoa whoa, wait," Josh said. "Lead us in what? Save the world? What the hell is going on?"

"Yeah, you're giving us the cliff notes here, we kind of need the whole unabridged story," Lydia said. Kimberly paused.

"Oh right..." she said. She cleared her throat and told them all the same story she told Kayleigh the day before, explaining the ranger duties and everything. Once she was finished, the room was engulfed in silence.

"You...want us...to be power rangers?" Mat asked, trying to grasp what Kimberly had just told them.

"In a nutshell," Kimberly said. Again, there was silence.

"Cool!" Mat exclaimed.

"The outfits have those little glove things right? Because...yeah...I so don't want to break a nail," Lydia said.

Kayleigh laughed and held out the four necklaces. She walked over to the four of them. First, she stood before Josh and looked down at the gems. After a few seconds she plucked the yellow gem from the bunch and handed it to him. Josh took the necklace and looked at her. Kayleigh then moved down the line to Lydia, looked at the gems again, then gave her the green gem. She then moved down to Mat, looking down at the two remaining gems before handing the blue one to him. She then stepped over to Gabby and gave her the white gem.

The four of them looked down as the gems glowed even brighter in their touch, a strange warmth tickling their hands.

"Wait, isn't the leader of these things supposed to have red," Josh said, looking down at his gem.

"She does," Kayleigh said. "Did you miss the part where she just said I was picked to lead the team?"

"You're the red ranger?" Josh said. Jason sighed.

"Yup, she's the red ranger."

"But she's a girl...she should be the pi-" Josh stared. Kayleigh raised an eyebrow.

"Do you really want to finish that sentence?" She snapped.

"...Okay, then...so moving on," Kimberly said, hoping to ease out of the friction.

"So, how do these things work?" Mat asked. "Where's the on button?"

"All you have to do to activate your powers is hold the gem out in front of you and say 'omni' your color, and 'power up'." Kimberly said.

"So, am I right to assume you guys are all in?" Kayleigh asked.

"Definitely," Mat said, putting the necklace on.

"Sure," Lydia said, putting hers on as well.

"I guess I can get used to having a girl for a leader," Josh grumbled as he put his on.

"I'll do my best to help you cope," Kayleigh said sarcastically.

All right, so we're all power rangers, whoohoo!" Mat said.

"Hang on, what about Gabby?" Lydia said.

"Oh, damn, sorry," Mat said. He stepped back and looked at the girl who had been quiet the whole entire time. Gabby looked at the others and slowly stood up. She cast a look at Lydia.

"Oh, so now you know my name? What happened to 'Pollyanna'?" She asked. Lydia bit her lip and looked down. She looked at the others. "...My answer's no, by the way," she said. They all quickly looked at her.

"What are you talking about?" Mat asked. "You have to, I mean, the gem-"

"No," Gabby said. She looked down. "I don't care what this thing says..." she said, waving the necklace about. "I'm not a power ranger."

"Yes you are," Kimberly said. Gabby shook her head.

"Did you guys not see me earlier? I mean, the three of you were kicking monster butt...me...I was like some little kid waiting for the big kids to come save her from the bad bullies. I'm not going to go out there and fight possibly bigger and badder things...Trust me, you guys are better off without me," she said before placing her gem on the console and running up the stairs.

"Gabby, wait," Mat called after her as he went to follow her.

"You guys stay, we'll go talk to her," Kimberly said. She patted Jason's shoulder before the two left to follow Gabby.

---

Gabby walked off Kimberly's porch as she made her way through the woods.

"Gabby, wait up," she heard as Jason and Kimberly caught up to her. Gabby kept on walking.

"You're just going to try and talk me into doing it...just save your breath, it's not going to work," Gabriella said. Kimberly sighed before grabbing the girl's arm and making her stop.

"Look, I know you're scared. Do you think you're the only one? The others are just as scared as you are."

"She's right. It's only natural to be scared. But you have to fight through that. You have to be brave," Jason said.

"I'm not brave!" Gabby protested. "I've never been brave, and you know what, I think I'll just live the rest of my life not being brave, thank you."

"Gabby," Kimberly said gently.

"No! Te dige que no." Gabby said before snatching her arm away. She turned to continue walking away, only to come face to face with one of the creatures from the club. Gabby screamed and stepped back. Kimberly and Jason pushed the young girl behind them as more of the creatures appeared, surrounding them.

"Huh, fighting a bunch of mindless drones...I think I'm feeling a little nostalgic," Jason said. Kimberly chuckled gently.

"You ready?" She asked. Jason nodded. The two of them stepped into fighting stances. "Gabby, we'll keep them distracted, you run back to the house and get the others," Kimberly said.

"Let's do this," Jason said. He and Kimberly began to fight the creatures, kicking, punching, flipping about with complete ease. As this went on, Gabby slowly eased away before breaking out into a run to the house.

Just as she was a few feet from the house, she felt a pair of arms grab her from behind.

"No! Let me go!" She screamed as she struggled. The creature simply lifted her off of the ground and brought her back to the rest of them. Kimberly and Jason this and went to help the girl.

This only resulted in one of the creatures grabbing Jason and throwing him to the ground and another grabbing hold of Kimberly.

"Jase!" Kimberly exclaimed worriedly. Slowly, she watched as the other creatures sank into the ground and disappeared. Jason looked up.

"Kim!" Jason pulled himself up to his feet and went to charge at the creatures, but the remaining two creatures disappeared as well, taking Gabby and Kimberly with them.

"Kim! Gabby!" He yelled as he fought to catch his breath. He sighed and fell to his knees.


	2. The New Team Part 2

Jason stood up from the ground and clenched his fist before running back to the house. He shot through the living room and pounded down the stairs. The others looked at him as he made a beeline to the computer console.

"What's wrong?" Kayleigh asked.

"Where's Gabby and Kimberly?" Lydia asked as she watched Jason begin to type furiously at the computer keyboard.

"They got captured," he said, not bothering to look at the others.

"What?!" Kayleigh asked, eyes wide.

"What do you mean, captured?" Mat asked.

"Those things that attacked you guys earlier showed up, and captured them," Jason said.

Lydia narrowed her eyes at him. "You're awfully calm after seeing them get captured," she said, not understanding why he wasn't freaking out.

"Believe me, when you've done this as long as I have, you learn to expect the occasional capture," Jason said. He hit a few more buttons on the keyboard before stepping back. "Come on, Billster, be there," he muttered.

Suddenly, the large screen came to life as an image appeared. The others stepped back in shock as they saw a blonde man, who looked to be about Jason and Kimberly's age, wearing glasses, staring back at them from the monitor.

"Who's that?" Lydia asked. Kayleigh looked at her.

"My guess: their friend Billy," she said, as she remembered Kimberly telling her about their interplanetary friend.

"No times for introductions now, Billy," Jason said. "We've got a situation." Billy frowned.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"One of our rangers was just captured...along with Kim," he said. Billy stared at Jason.

"Kim...captured...Huh, big surprise," Billy said, making Jason have to hold back a chuckle. "Where's Tommy when you need him, right?" Billy asked with a smirk. He quickly became serious again. "All right, what can I do to help? Do you need to use the tracking system?" Jason shook his head.

"That won't help...Gabby wasn't wearing her gem," Jason said. Billy looked at him.

"Tracking system?" Josh asked, confused.

"Shh," Kayleigh said.

"Why wasn't your ranger wearing her gem?" Billy asked. Jason sighed.

"Don't ask," Jason said.

"All right then," Billy said. The others heard the clicking of a keyboard from the monitor.

"Can you find them?" Jason asked.

"Maybe," Billy said. "Where were they captured?" He asked.

"The woods, about a quarter of a mile from here," Jason said. The sound of Billy's typing increased in speed. "Anything?"

"I'm zooming in on the location..." Billy said, his voice trailing. "I'm definitely picking up some residual readings of whatever must've taken them...But I can't get a lock on them," he said. Jason's face fell.

"So what do we do then?" Jason questioned, looking slightly defeated. Billy sighed

"I don't know," Billy said.

"You don't know?" Mat blurted out. "That's all you can say, you don't know? The two of them are out there in who knows where and that's all you give us?"

"Mat," Lydia said, putting a hand on his shoulder. Billy sighed.

"I'm sorry, but the readings I'm picking up are just all over the place, I can't figure out where they might be," he said. He sighed again. "Look, Kimberly's a former ranger, she can handle herself in this kind of situation. I have no doubt that she and your friend will be all right." He looked at Jason. "I'll keep trying," he said.

"Thanks, Billy," Jason said before the image on the monitor disappeared.

- - -

Gabby and Kimberly struggled against the creatures that held them as they were carried along a corridor before being brought to a large room. One of the creatures went and opened the door to a cage along the back wall. Both Kimberly and Gabby were shoved through the open door before it was pulled shut and locked behind them. The creatures then left, leaving Kimberly and Gabby alone.

Gabby sighed and sat in the corner by the wall. "This is just perfect..." She muttered. Kimberly peered out the bars of the cage before stepping back and looking at the younger girl.

"Did you get anything off of them?" She asked. "Any idea what's going on?" Gabby shook her head.

"I tried reading their minds when they first attacked us at the club...but..."

"But?" Kimberly asked. Gabby furrowed her brows.

"It was weird...like, everything was just...garbled rumbling...like...it wasn't even words or anything," Gabby said. Kimberly sighed.

"Okay then, there goes the idea of trying to figure out what they want," Kimberly said.

Gabby sighed. "This is just further evidence of why I am definitely not ranger material," she said. Kimberly looked at her.

"This, right now, is telling you you're not ranger material?" Kimberly asked.

"Well, yeah," Gabby said. "I mean, I was captured by the bad guys...What kind of ranger does that make me?"

"You'd be surprised how many times rangers see the inside of an evil being's lair..." Kim said, thinking back on all the times she herself had been captured, not to mention her friends/fellow rangers. Gabby scuffed her feet against the ground.

"Even still…" She trailed off.

"What?" Kimberly asked.

"Why me? What in the world makes me ranger worthy? Is it just the...well...telepath thing?" Gabby asked. Kimberly shrugged.

"I honestly couldn't tell you. The gem reacted to you, so obviously you're supposed to be a ranger, beyond that, I couldn't say," she said. She went over and sat beside Gabby. "Although, I guess...well, I'd imagine it would have to do with your strength."

"My strength?" Gabby asked, disbelievingly. She gave a soft scoff. "Yeah, okay, whatever," she said.

"You tried to help out Lydia last night, didn't you? I mean, she wasn't your friend...well, from what I've seen of you two, she probably wasn't even nice to you, but you still tried to help her when that guy was bothering her."

"How did you know about that?" Gabby asked.

"Jason showed Kayleigh and me the security tape from the incident," she said. Gabby nodded, making an 'oh' expression.

"Yeah, well, I still got knocked on my butt, so that really doesn't count as a check in the 'Gabby the ranger' column, now does it?"

"Even so, you tried. You could've just sat there, pretended you didn't see anything, but you didn't," Kimberly said. Gabby looked at Kim, a strange expression on her face.

"So what do you want me to do about it?" She questioned. Kim smiled.

"I'll make you a deal. You try it. If the team gets their butts severely kicked, I'll let you give it up." Gabby stared at her for a long while, her eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

"You're serious?" She asked. Kimberly nodded. Gabby looked off to the distance before shaking her head. "No," she said. Kimberly sighed. She felt like she'd actually gotten through to the girl. "If it's all the same, I'd rather not be in the 'butts severely kicked' situation to begin with." Kimberly opened her mouth to say something but stopped when she noticed a bunch of the creatures from before come to the cage door.

"What's going on?" Gabby asked. Kimberly shook her head, her eyes trained on the creatures.

"No clue, she said. One of the creatures opened the door to the cage as they entered. Two of them came over and grabbed Kimberly's arms, pulling her to her feet. "Let go!" She demanded. Another two came and grabbed Gabby, lifting her up to her feet as well. "Leave her alone!" Kimberly snarled. The creatures ignored her as they dragged both girls out of the cage and down a long corridor. At the end of the corridor was a large room with a throne in it. On the throne sat a large, ominous looking creature dressed in a large brown cloak, the hood up, covering it's face.

"What is that?" Gabby asked as the creatures came to aa stop with them in the room.

"My guess? Hefaris," Kimberly said.

"**Lord** Hefaris, you pathetic little human," came a voice as a thin creature with wrinkled yellow skin appeared from the side. Gabby gave a small fearful yelp.

"Who you calling pathetic, ugly?" Kimberly sneered. The creature simply glared at her. Hefaris laughed as he slowly stood up from his throne and approached them, stopping a few feet from the girls.

"No need to be frightened, child," he said to Gabby, his voice low, almost hissing, like a snake.

"Uh, thanks, but I think I'll stick to my initial reaction," Gabby said, feeling more scared by the minute.

"Come closer, child," Hefaris said. Gabby's eyes widened as she simply stood there, her mind wanting to run away, but her body too scared to cooperate.

Hefaris looked at the yellow creature beside him, who looked at the creatures holding Kimberly.

"Kill her," he said. One of the creatures pulled out a dagger and went to put it to her throat. Kimberly struggled against them.

"No!" Gabby exclaimed. She took a few steps towards Hefaris. "Don't hurt her," she said. The yellow creature looked at the creature with the dagger and simply nodded. Gabby heard the sound of the dagger being put in its sheath behind her. Hefaris approached Gabby, circling her slowly, like a predator sizing up its prey.

"You're the telepath, aren't you?" He asked, once he was standing in front of her again. Gabby remained silent. "Now now, when asked a question, it's only polite to reply," he said. Gabby slowly gave a shaky nod.

"Although," Gabby said, gulping slightly. "You probably already know that...since you've been watching me and the others, right?" She asked. Hefaris laughed.

"Well aren't you a smart girl," he said.

"I guess," Gabby muttered.

"Well, you are right, we were looking for young people with powers...I sent the Rasprites to fetch you and your little friends. They weren't supposed to fight you," he said, giving a glare to the creatures, almost as if he were admonishing them. "But I suppose they made up for their earlier mistake."

"What do you want?" Gabby asked. Hefaris turned his attention back to her.

"Well, to help you," he said. Gabby's brows furrowed in confusion.

"Help me?" She asked.

"Well yes," Hefaris said. He stalked around her again. "We've all seen how scared you've been. Scared of my Rasprites, scared of everything here."

"Your powers of observation are amazing," Gabby muttered. Hefaris looked over at the yellow creature.

"Sajno, why don't you bring me our little gift for our friend here?" He said, the creature walked back to the throne and came back, holding a chain with a black gem on it. Kimberly's eyes widened at the sight of it.

"Oh my god," she muttered. Sajno handed it to Hefaris, who held the chain by the tips of his fingers and let dangle in front of Gabby.

"You know what this is, don't you?" He asked. Gabby stared at the black gem, before looking back at Kimberly. She then looked at Hefaris. "Yes, my own little gem," he said. He stood in front of her again, still dangling the gem by her face. "It could be yours," he said. Gabby blinked, still obviously confused. "Yes, I know your little mentor over there already has you in line to be her rangers...I'm sure this will most likely not even respond to you...But we could change that," he said. "And then, all your fear will be no more," he said. "You'll be powerful, strong, no need to fear anything," he said. Gabby's eyes focused on the gem, before she saw two red orbs emitting from the dark shadow of the hood of the cloak, where Hefaris' eyes would've been. Gabby blinked as the red orbs seemed to stare directly into her eyes.

"Gabby?" Kimberly asked.

"You don't want to be afraid anymore, do you?" Hefaris said. Gabby's eyes gleamed over.

"No..." she said, her voice distant, lost. "I don't..." she said.

"Take the gem," Hefaris said. Kimberly's eyes widened.

"No, Gabby, don't listen to him," she said. Gabby's hand reached up and slowly took the gem from Hefaris. "Gabby!" Kimberly yelled, trying to get out of the Rasprites hold on her.

"There you go," Hefaris said, smiling. "No more fear," he said. Gabby blinked, her eyes becoming alert again as she looked at him, smirking.

"You really didn't think you could mind control a telepath, did you?" She asked.

"What?" Hefaris said, not understanding what happened. Gabby took a step forward and shoved Hefaris with all her might. He stumbled backwards, falling against Sajno, who quickly fell with the added weight of his master. Kimberly noted the brief distraction this provided and used it as she stomped on the foot of one of the Rasprites, causing it to release her as it hobbled backwards, allowing her to elbow the other in the face. Kimberly looked at Gabby.

"Come on," she said. Gabby went over to Kimberly as the two quickly ran out of the room as Hefaris fumbled around Sajno, trying to get back to his feet.

"Stop them!" He commanded. Gabby and Kim sped through the fortress at top speed, trying to get away from the Rasprites that were chasing them.

"Kim!" Gabby shouted as they ran. "Where's the exit?!"

"How should I know!?" Kimberly replied. They turned around a corner, leading to another corridor where Kimberly saw a small empty room. She took hold of Gabby's arm and led her to it, shutting the door behind them.

"What's this place?" Gabby asked, looking around the small room. Kimberly shrugged.

"Just figured it'd be a place to hide from the ugly crew while we figure out a way out of here," she said.

"Oh," Gabby said. Kimberly looked at her.

"And a chance for you to explain what just happened," she said. Gabby looked at her. "Did you read Hefaris' mind?" Gabby shook his head.

"No...I tried to...but it was like...blocked...his little yellow friend, on the other hand, read him like a children's book." Gabby said, smirking gently.

"So...you knew about that," Kimberly asked, pointing to the black gem still in Gabby's hand.

"The second Hefaris told him to get it," Gabby said. "I though, hey...why does the evil cloaked guy have a gem? And when I figured out he was trying to do some mind control mojo on me, I thought it'd be as good as a chance as any to get it from him."

"So...he didn't..." Kimberly said.

"Like I said, you can't mind control a telepath," Gabby said. Kim smiled.

"Good. Now lets try and figure a way out of here." Kimberly slowly paced around the room as she tried to figure out a plan.

"You said you couldn't read the Rasprites' minds, right?" She asked. Gabby nodded.

"I figured it's because...well, essentially, it's like they have no minds. They're like el chef's puppets or something," Gabby said. "Why?"

"Well because I'm thinking they'd know how to get off this thing," Kimberly said.

"Oh, sorry," Gabby said. Kimberly shook her head.

"It's not your fault, honey," Kimberly said. She paused. "Wait a sec," she said, looking at Gabby. "Do you remember the room we were in when the Rasprites first brought us here? Like, the place we appeared in?"

"Uh, no." Gabby said. "Granted, I was more focused on the whole 'oh my god, I've just been kidnapped by creepy looking intergalactic monsters' thing," Gabby said.

"Why?" Gabby asked.

"Well, that might be the entrance/exit off this thing...maybe if we get back there...we'll have an idea of how to get out of here," Kimberly suggested.

"So...this would require leaving this room, and being amongst the scary looking lemmings that are after us?" Gabby said. Kimberly chuckled and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Come on," she said. They walked to the door, Kimberly slowly opened it a crack and looked out. "Okay, coast is clear," she said. The two walked out into the corridor and began to slowly walk down it.

"Now...question is, where is this room?" Gabby asked.

"We'll find it, don't worry," Kimberly said. They slowly walked down the corridor, turning a corner down to another. Kimberly stopped. "Wait, I recognize this corridor," Kimberly said. Gabby looked at her.

"Uh...well, that's not surprising, since they all pretty much look the same," Gabby said. Kimberly shook her head.

"This is the corridor the Rasprites took us down, before putting us in the cage," she said. She pointed her finger towards one end of the corridor. "That way's the cage...meaning," she said, turning around. "That way's to the room," she said. Gabby shrugged.

"Okay, I guess that works," she said as the two went and walked in the opposite direction. "Yeah, we're getting close," Kimberly said after a while, as they kept walking.

"This way," she said, she put a hand on Gabby's shoulder and led her to another room. The room was empty, except for some lighted spots on the floor along the furthest wall. Above the lights, there was a almost silvery, effervescent field. "There," Kimberly said, pointing to the spots.

"Are you sure?" Gabby asked. Kimberly gave the girl a weak half smile.

"Not entirely...but I figured it's worth a shot," she said. Kimberly led the way to the spots, with Gabby slowly following her when a boney hand suddenly gripped Gabby's wrist and made her stop with a yelp. Gabby turned to see Sajno holding her wrist. "Gabby!" Kimberly exclaimed.

"Give me that, you conniving little brat!" Sajno snarled as he grabbed her hand and tried to pry her fist open, trying to take the gem from her hand.

"Let go of me, you freak!" Gabby shrieked. Sajno bent her fingers back, causing her to give a small shriek as he reached in to her now open palm and plucked the gem from it. Gabby stepped towards him and grunted as she brought her other palm up, slamming the heel of her hand against his nose. The small creature yelped as he fell back, releasing her. Gabby quickly ran to Kimberly.

"How'd you know how to do that?" Kimberly asked, surprised that the girl, who thus far, had claimed to be a weakling, struck down her opponent.

"I'm a young college girl who might sometimes have to walk around campus late at night...my parents made me take some self defense courses," Gabby said, shrugging. "Can we go now?" She said. Kimberly nodded as the two quickly made their way to one of the spots.

- - -

Jason paced around the base as the others sat around, not knowing what to do.

"Shouldn't we be out there looking for them?" Kayleigh asked.

"Were exactly do you suggest we look?" Josh asked.

"I don't know," Kayleigh said. Josh snorted.

"Some leader you are," he said. Kayleigh glared at him, before looking over at Jason.

"Breaking his nose would be a no-no, right?" She asked.

"I'd like to see you try," Josh said. Kayleigh jumped to her feet.

"Don't tempt me," she said. Josh got to his feet as well.

"Both of you, knock it off," Jason ordered. "The two of you getting into a pissing contest isn't going to help anything."

"He started it," Kayleigh protested.

"I don't care who started it, I'm ending it, so both of you sit down," he said. Kayleigh and Josh glared at each other before sitting down again. Jason sighed and turned away. "...Oh my god, I just sounded like my father..." he muttered lowly to himself. Suddenly, the monitor came to life as Billy's image appeared on the screen again.

"Jason?" Billy said. Jason looked at the screen.

"Billy...anything?" He asked.

"I'm picking up some readings by the rock quarry, a few miles from you guys," Billy informed.

"Is it them? Is it Gabby and Kimberly?" Kayleigh asked.

"Either them, or more of the things that took them," Lydia figured.

"Let's go," Jason said. He looked at the screen. "Thanks, Billy," he said. Billy smiled at his friend.

"No thanks needed. I'm just glad I could help," he said. Jason turned and looked at his team.

"Alright guys, lets head out." He told them. Standing, the five rangers headed up the stairs and towards the front door. Jason looked at the console and picked something up before following the rangers.

- - -

Mat, Lydia, Kayleigh, Josh and Jason all sat in Mat's car as he drove to the rock quarry.

"So, where exactly should we start looking for them?" Kayleigh asked, looking at Jason from where they both sat in the back of Mat's car.

"I don't know," Jason said. "Billy just said he was picking up some readings from this area, so I guess-" Jason was cut off as a quick flash of lightening lit up the sky and a loud thump was heard from the hood of Mat's car, making him quickly hit the break. They all looked through the windshield and were surprised to see Kimberly looking back at them and Gabby lying on the edge of the hood.

"Ow..." Gabby muttered as she turned, only to give a started yelp as she fell off the hood of the car. The others shared a look before quickly scrambling out of the car. Kayleigh and Mat went over and helped Gabby up off the ground as Josh and Jason each took one of Kimberly's hands and helped her off the hood.

"Are you guys okay?" Lydia asked. Kim and Gabby looked at the team and then at each other.

"I think we just fell from the sky." Gabby commented.

"What happened?" Kayleigh asked. Gabby stared at her.

"We just. Fell from. The sky," she said slowly. Kayleigh rolled her eyes.

"I got that, thanks," she said. Kimberly shot looks to both Kayleigh and Gabby.

"Lets not fight, sound good?" She commented. The girls nodded

We should get back to the house." Jason spoke. The others nodded. Lydia turned around to go back to the car, only to freeze as her eyes widened.

"Uh, I think those guys might have an issue with that plan," Lydia said.

"What?" Josh asked as the others turned around, only to see aa large group of Rasprites standing behind Mat's car.

"Oh man, not these guys again," Mat groaned. Kimberly looked at Mat, Kayleigh, Lydia and Josh.

Well, this seems like as good as a time as any for you guys to test out your new powers, don't you think?" She asked. The rangers looked at each other before nodding as they stepped forward. Gabby stood back, watching them. Jason looked at the girl and smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder, making her look at him.

"I thought you might need this...you know, just in case you changed your mind," he said before taking something out of his pocket and dangling it in front of her, Gabby quickly saw that it was the white gem. Gabby looked at the gem, and then looked at Kimberly and Jason, who were both giving her encouraging smiles.

- - -

Kayleigh, Josh, Mat and Lydia stood before the Rasprites.

"Is it just me, or did these things get uglier since the last time we saw them?" Lydia asked, looking at the creature with disdain.

"How could you tell? They were mighty ugly to begin with," Mat said, smirking.

"You guys ready?" Kayleigh asked.

"Ready," Josh, Mat and Lydia said in unison.

"Ready," came a voice. The others turned to see Gabby catching up with them. Kayleigh smiled.

"All right then, let's do this," she said. One by one, the rangers each held their gem and held it out straight in front of them.

"Omni red, power up!" Kayleigh yelled. Her gem floated out of her hand before getting closer to her chest as it seemed to expand, covering her body in a red costume, the gloves, boots and hem of the skirt lined with a soft white color.

"Omni yellow, power up!" Josh yelled. His gem also expanded around him, leaving him in a suit similar to Kayleigh's, except that it was yellow and was without the skirt.

"Omni blue, power up!" Mat yelled, his gem expanded and left him in a suit much like Josh's, only blue.

"Omni green, power up!" Lydia said, as she changed into an outfit much like Kayleigh's, only green. Gabby watched the others change and gave one last look at her gem before giving a determined nod.

"Omni white, power up!" She yelled, and soon she too was standing there in a costume like Lydia and Kayleigh's, except it was white. The five rangers stood in a straight line, with Kim and Jason standing behind them.

"Whose ready to kick some Rasprites ass?" Kayleigh asked. They quickly moved into a fighting stance, before rushing forward into the throng of Rasprites.

The five rangers went at the creatures, each taking on a portion of the beasts.

"Whoa, this is like so cool," Lydia said as they began to fight the creatures. Lydia ducked down low as one of the creatures tried to kick her before she herself stuck her leg out and swept the Rasprite off it's feet. "I'm so like Xena," Lydia laughed. Kayleigh shook her head slightly before flipping backwards and getting two Rasprites down with her legs. Josh grabbed one of the Rasprites by the arm and began swinging it around his head like a doll before releasing it into a crowd of Rasprites, causing them to all fall down.

"This is wicked!" he called as he kicked a Rasprite in the stomach and sending it flying.

"You can say that again!" Mat exclaimed as he punched a Rasprite in the face, knocking it backwards before launching himself and flying around a small group of the creatures, circling them, making the Rasprites group together as they looked about, disoriented. "Hey Josh, care for another round of bowling?" He asked.

Josh laughed before grabbing hold of another Rasprite and swinging him over his head, sending it sailing to the group of Rasprites Mat had just rounded up, knocking them down. "Strike," the yellow ranger laughed.

Gabby stood shaking in a fighting stance as a group of Rasprites stood menacingly before her. "Oh man, what did I get myself into?" She wondered. One of the Rasprites reached out to try and grab her arm. "HA!" Gabby yelled as she grabbed the Rasprites arm and used it to flip it over onto its back. She stared at the fallen creature in surprise, before looking at the remaining ones before her. Gabby wore a wide grin behind her helmet. "That's right, who else wants some?!" She asked. She ran forward and went to kick one of the Rasprites in the stomach, but her plan backfired. Instead, the Rasprite grabbed her leg and flipped her over so that she landed on her back.

"Well, that could've gone better," she muttered. She looked up and asked, barely having any time to turn to her side before a Rasprite tried to bring its foot down on her head. She turned again as the Rasprite tried to get her head again and again.

Gabby grunted as she kicked her foot up, catching the Rasprites thigh, causing the creature to stumble backwards. Gabby rolled up to her feet and saw the group of Rasprites by her had increased in numbers and were now circling around her. "...Not good, so not good," she said. She yelped as one of the creatures kicked her in the stomach, knocking her to the ground again. "Guys!" She screamed as the group of Rasprites closed in on her. "A little help over here would be fantastic," she said.

"Hang on," Lydia said. She stretched her arms out and took hold of two of the Rasprites, pulling them back and flinging them off the cliff of the quarry. Mat flew over to where Gabby was, slamming his foot in the back of two of the Rasprites as he soared to the fallen girl. Lydia, Kayleigh and Josh rushed over as well, attacking the Rasprites as Mat helped Gabby back up to her feet.

"You all right?" He asked. Gabby simply nodded. The rangers all gathered together, facing the remaining Rasprites.

"All right, enough fun and games. Who's for finishing these guys off?" Kayleigh said.

"Oh yeah," Lydia said. Josh, Mat and Gabby nodded their agreement. Kayleigh reached into the holster by her hip and pulled out a red and silver colored blaster. Lydia retrieved her own green and silver one from her holster, Josh pulled his yellow and silver colored weapon from his holster, Mat took out his blue and silver weapon, and lastly, Gabby slowly took her white and silver colored weapon out.

"Ready?" Kayleigh asked as the five of them aim their blasters to the creatures. "Hit it," she said before they began shooting the blasters. A hurricane of multicolored beams shot out from the blasters, hitting the Rasprites and destroying them. The Rasprites disappeared, leaving an empty space where they'd been standing before. A cheer went up form the rangers.

"We did it!" Lydia cried in excitement. Jason and Kimberly ran over to the rangers as they powered down, their suits disintegrating and leaving them in their normal clothing.

"You guys were amazing," Kimberly said, smiling at them all.

"So, how do you guys feel?" Jason asked, smiling.

"Great," Kayleigh said. "I mean...It felt like..." her voice trailed off as she tried to find the right words to express what she felt.

"Like our bodies just got a turbo charge or something," Lydia said. Kayleigh nodded.

"Yeah," she said. Kim and Jason smiled at their team.

"Alright, we should be heading back to the base." Kim commented. The team nodded.

- - -

The rangers all stood in the base below Kimberly's house. "So, what happened to you guys?" Kayleigh asked Kimberly and Gabby. "Where'd you go?"

"Those things...the um...Rasprites...they took us up to their...like mother ship or whatever," Gabby said. Kimberly nodded.

"We came face to face with Hefaris himself," Kimberly added. Jason looked at her.

"Really?" He asked. Kimberly nodded.

"Well, not exactly face to face," Gabby said. "I mean, he was wearing this hood thing, but, yeah," she said. She looked off and gave a short shudder. "Those eyes though...talk about creepy," she added.

"What did they look like?" Mat asked.

"They were like these two glowing red circles inside a dark bottomless bit," Gabby said. Kimberly smiled.

"Yeah, but that didn't stop her from getting the best of him," she said, causing the others to look at Gabby, who was blushing and looking down.

"What happened?" Jason asked. Gabby shrugged nonchalantly.

"Nothing...I-I-I mean, he tried to um...do some mind mojo on me or something...But you can't exactly mind control a telepath...but he didn't need to know that, so I just kind of...let him think that and...yeah...just..." Gabby let her voice trail off as she shrugged again.

"He had a gem," Kimberly said. Jason looked back at his friend.

"Are you serious?" Jason asked. Kimberly nodded.

"Uh huh," she said.

"Oh man," Jason groaned.

"What is it?" Josh asked.

"Rule of thumb, if the evil guys have their own gem/coin/whatever, it doesn't bode well," Kimberly said. "It means they're going to get themselves their very own ranger," she said. "Hefaris tried to recruit Gabby, but it didn't work." Gabby looked down.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I had the gem...but one of Hefaris'...buddies took it from me," she said. Kimberly put a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Hey, it's not your fault," she said. "Besides, at least now we know that Hefaris has a gem, meaning that, unlike past rangers, we won't be caught off guard if Hefaris ends up finding someone to use it." Mat looked at Kim.

"Is there anyway we can prevent Hefaris from getting a ranger?" He questioned. Jason shook his head.

"Unfortuanlity no… We just have to be cautious." Jason spoke.

"How will we know when Hefaris has someone?" Lydia asked.

"My guess is, the second we see someone who's dressed like us, trying to kick our butts," Josh said to Lydia in a condescending tone. Lydia glared at him.

"So what if Hefaris is able to find himself a ranger?" Kayleigh said, smiling. "In case you guys didn't notice, we kicked some serious butt today, we don't have anything to worry about."

"Yeah, some of us kicked butt," Gabby muttered. Jason sighed.

"Don't get too confident," he said to the red ranger. "This was just your first encounter with these guys. Chances are, not all battles are going to be this easy," he said. Kimberly nodded, agreeing.

"He's right," Kimberly said. "You're going to be facing a lot of tough opponents. It might get hard sometimes, you might even get seriously hurt. This is not the time to get cocky."

"...Wow, you guys really need to work on your pep talks," Lydia said.

"Yeah, seriously," Mat agreed. Kimberly and Jason smiled.

"Sorry, just remembering our own ranger days," Jason said.

"Yeah," Kimberly said. She looked at them. "It got hard, there were times that we didn't think we could do it, but we worked together and got rid of the baddies," she said, smiling warmly. Jason cleared his throat before speaking again.

"Anyways, enough trips down memory lane. I think you've all had enough excitement for one day. Why don't you all go home and get some rest. You'll need it if we're going to defeat Hefaris."

"I'm all for that," Mat said, the others agreeing as they made their way to leave.

"Hang on," Kayleigh said, stopping. The others stopped as well and looked at her. Kayleigh looked at Gabby. "Just to be sure...this is your final decision, right? To be part of the team?" Gabby looked at her, before looking at the others.

"Well?" Josh asked.

"Yeah, come on, Pollyanna, are you with us or not?" Lydia asked. Gabby looked at the green ranger before cocking an eyebrow.

"All right," she said. The others smiled. "But only on one condition," she said.

"What?" Kayleigh asked. Gabby smirked and pointed her finger at Lydia.

"She has to stop calling me Pollyanna," she said. The others looked back at Lydia.

"Fine," Lydia said. "But if that's the case, there has to be a little rule concerning P..." Lydia caught herself and saw the others giving her a look. "I mean, Gabby."

"What do you mean?" Gabby asked.

"No mind reading the rest of us," Lydia said. "We don't need to be worrying about what we're thinking around you while we're trying to save the world," Lydia said. Kayleigh nodded and looked at Gabby.

"She's right. We have to all be able to trust each other, and you knowing what the rest of us are thinking kind of makes that a little hard." Gabby nodded, taking in what they said.

"All right," she said. "No mind reading, I promise," she said.

"All right then," Kayleigh said. Josh rolled his eyes.

"Girls," he muttered, shaking his head before turning and walking up the stairs, leaving the base. Lydia glared at his retreating form before looking back at Gabby.

"But if you feel the need to like...melt someone's brain or something...may I suggest his?" Gabby giggled.

"Uh...I don't think I can do that," she said.

"Darn," Lydia said. Kayleigh smiled at the girls.

"Come on, we should get going." She spoke as she headed up the stairs, the two girls following her. Mat smiled, shaking his head slightly. "Oh, this is going to be fun," he said as he left as well.

- - -

Later that night, Gabby was sitting alone in her dorm room, looking over her readings for Monday when she heard a knock on the door. Gabby got up from her spot on her bed and went to the door and opened it, surprised to see Mat there.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," she said. "Uh...what are you doing here?" She asked. She paused. "I...I...I mean, not that you _can't _be here or anything, just...uh...I mean...um...what's up?" She asked. Mat laughed and reached into his pocket, pulling out a white wallet.

"You left this at the club, remember?" He asked. Gabby gave a soft nervous laugh as he handed it to her.

"Oh, right, yeah," she said.

"Yeah, I checked the ID, just to see which building you were in," he paused. "I'm not a stalker, I swear," he joked. Gabby laughed.

"Um, do you want to come in?" She asked.

"Sure," Mat said as Gabby stepped aside to let him in. She shut the door behind him. Turning around, she saw him standing by her bed and was suddenly hit with a wave of nervousness over having a boy in her room.

"So...pretty crazy day, huh?" Mat asked. Gabby nodded.

"That's a bit of an understatement," she said. She sighed.

"What's wrong?" Mat asked.

"Well...I keep thinking about what Kimberly and Jason said...about things not being as easy as they were today...well, they weren't exactly easy for me. I'm beginning to wonder if I'm actually cut out for this."

"Okay, so you needed some help," Mat said, shrugging. "Not that big of a deal. I mean, there's a reason why you're part of a team, a team works together," he said. Gabby snorted and sat on the edge of her bed.

"Okay, but I really think my yelling for help while I'm getting my butt kicked will get old pretty fast," she said. Mat sat down on Gabby's desk chair.

"So you'll learn how to handle it on your own," he said. Gabby looked at him before smiling sheepishly.

"I've never fought anyone...before today," she said. Mat raised an eyebrow, disbelievingly. Gabriella shrugged. "Growing up, my older brothers always kind of looked out for me. I never had to fight, they always did it for me," she said. She frowned. "Wow, I must sound all kinds of pathetic right now," she said.

"Nah," Mat said, smiling. "A little sheltered maybe, but not pathetic." Gabby rolled her eyes.

"Thanks," she said.

"Anyway, for someone who's never fought before, you did pretty well," he said.

"Really?" Gabby asked.

"Oh yeah...I mean, you held your own...for only a few minutes, sure, but..." he paused. "I'm not helping, am I?" Gabby laughed.

"No, I get it, thanks," she said. Mat checked his watch. "I'm sorry, am I keeping you from something?" She asked. Mat looked back at her.

"Well...I'm supposed to meet up with the band to talk about some new songs to put in our sets," he said, his tone apologetic. Gabby shook her head and smiled.

"It's fine," she said. She got up and walked to the door as he got up from the chair. "So, I guess I'll be seeing you around," she said. Mat nodded. He went to open the door before stopping.

"Hey, if you want...I could show you some stuff sometime," he said. Gabby looked at him, confused. "Teach you how to fight...you know...cut down the need to yell for help," he said.

"Oh..." Gabby said. "Uhm...sure...I...I mean...if it's not a bother or anything," she said. Mat smiled.

"Not at all," he said. "Besides, think of it as payback for warning me about the knife yesterday," he said. Gabby smiled.

"Okay," she said. Mat smiled and patted her shoulder.

"See ya, Gabs," he said as he opened the door, leaving. Gabby leaned against the doorframe as she watched him disappear down the hallway.

"Yeah," she said softly, a lovesick smile forming on her lips. "See ya," she said.

- - -

Kayleigh opened the door to her shared room with Hannah. She pulled her key out as the door opened and kicked the door closed behind her. She strolled across the room, waving to Hannah who was curled up on her bed, studying.

"Hey Kay… Where've _you_ been all day?" Hannah grinned as her roommate chucked her bag and jacket into her part of the bedroom. Kay looked at Hannah, an eyebrow raised.

"What's that supposed to mean? You know I was at training all day." She replied, lying right through her teeth. Hannah continued to grin.

"I'm sure you were hon. You were pretty hammered last night. I mean, its not everyday that you let anyone, especially Mika drive your car home." Hannah laughed. Kayleigh just rolled her eyes.

"Anyways, I'm exhausted. I'm gonna go to bed, so I'll see you tomorrow." Kay commented before heading into her room, the curtain closing behind her. Hannah stared after her roommate.

"Kayleigh! It's only 9pm!"

"Training was rough today," Kayleigh called back to her roommate. Hannah just laughed. Kay quickly undressed and pulled her grey sweats and a clean red tank top and crawled into bed, jamming her headphones into her ears and cranking her MP3 player.

Hannah shook her head, laughing as she went back to her reading. She hadn't gotten an entire line read before there was a knock on the door. Hannah got up from her bed and opened the door, seeing Riley standing there.

"Oh hey Riley." Hannah smiled. Riley grinned back at her.

"Hello Hannah." He smiled back at her. "Is Kayleigh here?" He asked, a shy smile crossing his face ever so slightly. Hannah smirked.

"Now, what in the world would you want with my darling roommate?" She asked. A slight blush formed on Riley's cheeks.

"Just wanted to talk..." He said. Hannah's smirk widened.

"Uh huh, I'm sure," she said. "Hang on, let me go get her," she said. Riley smiled and waited patiently at the door as Hannah headed into Kayleigh's darkened half of the room.

"Kayleigh." Hannah called as she pushed the curtain aside. There was no movement, but the sound of light snoring filled Hannah's ear's, combined with Kayleigh's MP3 player blaring some hard rock music into her ears. Hannah knelt down next to Kayleigh and shook her lightly.

"Wake up roomie." Hannah commented. She was met with grumbling and Hannah watched as Kayleigh rolled over onto her side, facing away from Hannah.

Hannah sighed and reached over, pulling Kayleigh's headphones away from her ears. "Wakie Wakie," she said. Kayleigh groaned.

"Hannah, go away," she mumbled. Hannah smirked.

"Okay, but what should I tell the tall dark and handsome guy standing in our doorway? Hmm, I guess I'll just tell Riley you're off in dreamland," she said. Kayleigh's eyes snapped open at that. She sat up straight in her bed.

"What?" She asked. Hannah laughed.

"Riley's at the door, he's asking for you," she said. Kayleigh's eyes widened as she quickly scrambled out of bed, turning the light before going to the mirror on top of her dresser, flattening out any hair that had gotten ruffled in her brief seconds of sleep. She snatched her gymnastics hoodie of the back of her computer chair and pulled it on over her head. She tossed a quick grin at Hannah.

"Thanks!" She smiled, heading out into the main room. Hannah laughed and shook her head. In the main room, Kayleigh smiled as she walked over to Riley.

"Hey," she said. Riley smiled back at her.

"Hey," he said.

"What's up?" She asked, folding her arms over her chest as she tried to act cool and nonchalant through her nervousness.

"Not a lot.. Just came by to talk… I didn't wake you up did I?" He asked, genuine concern filling his voice. Kayleigh felt her knees go week as she smiled.

"Uh, no.. I actually had just crawled into bed to do some reading." She lied.

"Oh," Riley said. "Good...I mean, I'm glad I didn't wake you," he said. Kayleigh smiled, nodding. "So, um...I had a really fun time last night," he said. Kayleigh nodded.

"Yeah, I did too," she said.

"That's great," he said. "I mean, I'm glad you had a fun time too," he said. "Because um...I'd hate to think you...didn't," he said.

"Just ask her out already!" Yelled a voice from the other room. Kayleigh and Riley's eyes widened as they both blushed, looking away.

"Thanks, Hannah," Kayleigh called back sarcastically.

"No problem," Hannah replied.

"I..." Kayleigh said, looking back at Riley. "I'm sorry about that," she said, laughing nervously. Riley laughed as he looked at her.

"Yeah..." he said. "Uh...well..." He said "I was actually wondering," he said before clearing his throat. "Uhm, would you...you know, want to do something sometime?" He asked. Kay looked at him.

"Like what?" She questioned, a slight blush rising to her cheeks. Riley shrugged as he looked at his shoes.

"Oh I don't know. Dinner and a movie maybe?" He asked, smiling softly. Kay looked at him, her lips curving into a small smile.

"I'd love to." Riley looked back at her.

"Really?" He asked, a smile forming on his lips. Kayleigh nodded. "Awesome...I mean...uh, great," he said, causing Kayleigh to chuckle a bit. "So, uh, can I call you sometime?" He asked. Kayleigh nodded. She took a pen from Hannah's desk and grabbed a sticky note, writing her cell phone number on the paper before handing it back to him.

"There you go." She replied, smiling as their hands touched when Riley took the piece of paper from her hand. Riley grinned.

"I'll call you.." He smiled as he turned and headed back down the hall.

"Great," Kayleigh said. Riley turned back to her and gave her one last smile before he left. Kayleigh closed the door, a bright smile on her lips.


	3. Beautiful Friendship Part 1

Kayleigh stood in front of her bedroom mirror a few days later, putting the finishing touches on her hair. Her slick black hair was half up, and pinned at the back of her head as to stay out of her face. It was lab day today, and she didn't need her hair catching on fire. Her make-up was darker than normal around her eyes to suit her mood, as she had woken up slightly grumpy this morning. Staring at the mirror she grabbed her white blouse and slid it on her over top of her red tank top. She jammed her feet into her black ballet flats, and as she picked up her tote bag, headed towards her door. Hannah was long gone for her classes, and Kayleigh knew she was pushing her luck, coming very close to being late. She threw open the door and stepped out.

"God I hate Mondays." She muttered as she headed for the stairs. Kayleigh heaved a heavy sigh as she practically galloped down the stairs, careful to hold onto the banister so as not to fall. Once she reached the bottom of the stairs, she adjusted her school bag on her shoulder and sprinted out of the building, making her way to the science lab.

---

Gabby sat in front of the boudoir in her dorm room, still dressed in her pajamas as she finished up putting her hair in pigtail braids. She reached for the remaining small white hair-tie and fastened it to the end of the 2nd braid before putting on her glasses. Her hands stilled over the small white jewel that was lying on the table next to her hairbrush. She stared down at it. She was still having trouble believing it. Only three days ago, she and the others had become Power Rangers. She had been doing her best to continue going on with her life, and for the most part she was doing an excellent job. But there were moments when she had to stop and take a second, reveling in the slight absurdity of it all. Gabby's eyes shifted up to her reflection in the mirror before she gave herself a slight smile as she put the necklace on. Gabby stood up from the seat and went to her bed where she had already laid out her clothes for the day-- a denim jumper that went down to her knees, a white long sleeved shirt, a white cardigan, white stockings and black Mary Jane shoes. She checked her watch.

"Okay," Gabby said to herself. "It's 8:30, meaning I've got another ten minutes until Lisa's out of the shower," she said to herself. She began to change out of her pajamas and into her clothes for the day. She was just getting her shoes buckled when the bathroom door opened.

"Bathroom's free," Gabby's roommate, Lisa, announced as she exited the bathroom, a small white towel wrapped around her torso and another wrapped in a turban on top of her head. Gabby lifted her head up and paused, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Oh, by the way, I used your towels," Lisa said as she had her back to Gabby, going through her drawers as she picked out something to wear. "I didn't have time to do laundry this weekend," she said. Gabby put on a tight smile as she picked her school bag up from the floor by her bed.

"That's fine," she said. "I've got to go to class," she said as she made her way to the door she said, tightening her fist gently at her side, she still needed to brush her teeth but opted to just chew some gum on her way to class, seeing as both her towels were now being used.

"Oh hey," Lisa called after her as she opened the door. Gabby gave an internal sigh, knowing exactly what was about to happen. "I have a date tonight and we're going to be coming back here, do you think you could like...not be here?" Gabby rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, sure," she said, walking out before Lisa had a chance to say anything else. Gabby walked out of the dorm building, making her way to her first class of the day--Renaissance Literature. She shifted her bag on her shoulder as she walked.

"Gabby," she heard someone call to her. She turned to see Kimberly walking to her with a travel mug in one hand and some books held between her free arm and her midsection. Gabby gave the older woman a friendly smile.

"Good morning Ki...uh...Miss...um...Coach Hart.." she stammered, unsure how to address the woman on campus. Kimberly smiled.

"Kimberly's fine," she said. Gabby smiled slightly and nodded. "So, on your way to class?" Gabby nodded again.

"Uh huh, Renaissance Literature with professor Silars," Gabby said. Kimberly nodded.

"All right then, well I won't keep you," she said. Gabby tilted her head to the side, feeling like there was something more to this run in.

"Is something wrong?" Gabby asked. She hadn't bothered to read her mind, figuring the agreement she had made with the others extended to Kimberly and Jason as well. Kimberly shook her head.

"Not at all," she said before taking a sip out of her mug. She looked at Gabby. "Honestly, I was just wondering how you were doing," she admitted.

"Oh," Gabby said, she shrugged. "I'm all right, I guess. Just..."

"Dealing?" Kimberly offered.

"Yeah, I guess that's the best way to put it," Gabby said. Kimberly gave the young girl a warm smile.

"Well, if there's any a time you need some help dealing, you can always talk to me," she said. Gabby chuckled gently.

"You sound like my academic advisor," she said. Kimberly laughed.

"Well, unlike your advisor, you don't need to email me to make an appointment to talk," she said. Gabby smiled and nodded.

"Thanks," she said. She looked at her watch. "Uh, I really should get going." Kimberly gave an understanding nod. Gabby gave her a small wave in departure as she continued on her way to class.

- --

Mat groaned as the sunlight hit him right on the face. He turned in bed, feeling the coolness of the empty side next to him.

"Morning," he heard someone say. Mat peeked out of his half closed eyelids and saw a blurry image walking around the room. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, letting the white bed sheet wall to his lap.

"Hmm," he muttered. He opened his eyes and saw Lena, his date from the night before, standing by her dresser and brushing her hair as she occasionally picked up a pop-tart from the dresser and took a bite.

"Have to head to class," she said, indicating it was time for him to leave. Mat nodded, yawning.

"Just point me in the direction of my clothes and I'm gone," he said. Lena laughed, shaking her head. She wiggled her toe into the waistband of his discarded boxers and kicked them up to him. Mat caught them in mid-air and slid to the edge of the bed as he pulled them on.

"So, are you guys practicing tonight?" She asked. Mat shrugged as he stood up from the bed, pulling on his jeans.

"We practice when we practice," he said, picking up his blue t-shirt and pulling it on. Lena passed him his sneakers as she put a book in her school bag.

Well, do you want to hook up tonight?" She asked, zipping her bag shut. Mat sat back down as he put on his shoes.

"Can't, got a date," he smirked. Lena rolled her eyes.

"Of course you do," she said. Mat got up from the bed and walked over to her, frowning.

"Sorry," he said. Lena looked at him.

For what?" She asked. She leaned towards him and gave him a peck on the lips. "You don't promise anything, and it's not like I expect anything from you," she said. She smiled. "Last night was fun, just was wondering if we could do it again sometime," she said. Mat chuckled.

"Well, let me check my schedule and I'll get back to you," he said.

"Whatever," she said with a grin. "Now get out of here, will you?"

"Oh, I see how it is," Mat said as he made his way to the door. "Love 'em and leave 'em, eh? Or...well, love 'em and make 'em leave," he said. Lena laughed.

"Exactly," she said.

"See ya," he said, opening the door and leaving. He ran his hand through his hair as he fished his car keys out his pocket as he walked down the corridor in the dorm hall.

As he walked out of the building, the bright morning sun hit him full on, making him groan slightly. He walked to the parking lot and was about to make his way to his car when he saw a body leaning against the door of his car, wearing a knowing smirk on their face. Mat rolled his eyes.

"Morning, Lydia," he said as he went around to the driver's side and stuck his key in the door.

"Uh huh, don't morning me," she teased. "I was on my way to class when I saw your car here. Now, I know you don't have class until noon, so I wondered what your car could possibly be doing on campus this early in the morning," she said.

"Leaving," he said as he opened the door and got into his car. Lydia stood up and turned to face him, her smirk even wider than before.

"You're so cranky in the morning," she teased. Mat simply stuck his middle finger up at her as he started his car. "Love ya too, babe," she said. "So, are we meeting for lunch at two?"

"Yeah, see ya," he said as he pulled out of the parking lot. Mat drove his car off of campus and drove to the house he rented with his band mates a half a mile down the road. He parked his car on the side street and shut off the engine before getting out and making his way to the house. He entered the house, shuffling to his bedroom on the far end of the hall, deciding to get a few more hours of slumber before he had to leave for class. He walked through the doorway of his room and grabbed the small sign from the inside doorknob and hung it on the outside knob. It was a simple door hanger that read "Do Not Disturb...Even for the End of the World" in large bold black letters. He shut his door and kicked off his shoes as he made his way to his bed, unceremoniously collapsing on his blue sheets and sighing contently as he punched up his pillow below his head and fell back asleep.

---

Later that day, Kayleigh walked through the lunch room on campus after buying herself a wrap, a bag of chips and bottle of soda. She found an empty table and sat down, setting her bag on the chair beside her and her food items on the table. She opened her soda and took a swig before unwrapping the wax paper from her wrap. Her eyes scanned the lunch room aimlessly as she took a bite out of her food. Her gazing came to a stop as she caught sight of Gabby sitting at a table by herself with headphones on, a book open in front of her as she ate. Kayleigh set down her wrap and stood up before walking over to Gabby. She came to a stop next to Gabby's chair and stood there, expecting to be acknowledge. After a few seconds, it dawned that Gabby was slightly oblivious to the world around her at the moment. Kayleigh chuckled gently and gently tapped the girl on the shoulder. Gabby gasped as she gave a small startled jump in her seat, her hands flying to her headphones and pulling them down to her neck as she looked up to see Kayleigh standing there beside her.

"Oh...uh...hi..." Gabby muttered. Kayleigh smiled.

"Hey, sorry, didn't mean to scare you," she said. Gabby gave a nervous laugh.

"Oh, no...I'm fine...you...you didn't scare me," she said. Kayleigh nodded.

"Anyway, I saw you sitting over here by yourself, and well, I'm sitting over there alone as well...anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to come over and join me?" She asked. Gabby stared at her as if Kayleigh had just grown a second head.

"Oh...uh...su...sure..." Gabby said.

"Cool," Kayleigh said. Gabby scooted her chair back as she stood up. "Do you need help carrying anything?" She asked.

"Oh, no...I'm fine," Gabby said. She marked her place in her book before putting it away in her bag, as well as the cd player after she took the headphones off her neck, before slinging the bag over her shoulder and picking up her plastic bowl containing her food and her bottle of water. She followed Kayleigh back to her table.

Kayleigh sat down in her seat and moved her bag off the chair beside her, letting Gabby sit down. "Thanks," Gabby said, smiling graciously as she sat down.

"So Gabby." Kay started. Gabby's head lifted upwards slightly as she looked at her team leader.

"Yeah?" She asked. Kayleigh shrugged and laughed.

"This is gonna sound so stupid.. But I really don't know much about you." She finished. Gabby chuckled and nodded. "Same." She replied. Kay opened her mouth to speak but was quickly silenced by the arrival of two new people.

"Hey guys." Lydia smiled as she dropped her tray down on the table. Mat followed suit and slid down next to her, across from Gabby.

"Hi," Kay said. Gabby put a forkful of her pasta in her mouth and simply nodded in greeting. Lydia opened the plastic container and poked at her salad with her plastic fork before sticking a cucumber in her mouth.

"So," Mat began as he unwrapped his burger, "is this the table for the super cool rangers?" He asked in a hushed voice, causing the others to chuckle.

"I don't know about that," Kay said. She shrugged. "But hey, if we're going to be saving the world together, it couldn't hurt us to hang together and get to know one another, right?" She said. Mat nodded in agreement between bites of his burger.

"Oh look, there's Josh," Gabby said. The others looked up to see Josh walk into the lunchroom and see them all sitting together. He rolled his eyes, shaking his head slightly as he turned and sat at an empty table at the other end of the room. "Oh...I guess he didn't see us," Gabby said.

"Oh, he saw us," Lydia said. She rolled her eyes. "Don't pay any mind to Josh. He's got a mental disorder,"

"A mental disorder?" Kay asked. "What do you mean?"

"Is there...like something wrong with his brain or something?" Gabby asked.

"Yeah, he doesn't have one," Lydia said. Mat cast a sideways glace at Lydia.

"Harsh much?" He questioned. Lydia shrugged.

"Harsh, but true." She replied.

"And funny," Kay said, smirking.

"I knew there was something I liked about you," Lydia said to Kay with a grin.

"Ah, so to get in your good graces all one has to do is agree with you?" Kay asked. Mat snorted.

"Pretty much," he said. Lydia threw him a mean look.

"Whatever," she said, sweeping her hair over her shoulder before going back to her lunch. She was about to put a forkful of food in her mouth before she turned to Mat and playfully stuck her tongue out at him, making him chuckle.

"Ladylike." Mat commented.

"Of course," Lydia replied before going back to eating. Mat rolled his eyes and turned to look at Gabby and Kay as he began to address the whole group.

"So, as Kay already stated, since we're going to be 'working' together, we should probably do some like...I don't know, bonding activities or something." Kay quirked an eyebrow at him.

"What, trust falls or something?" She snickered.

"Ooh, can I drop Josh?" Lydia kidded. Mat groaned.

"Anyway, I was thinking maybe we could all like get together and watch a movie or something. How about my place on Thursday?" Mat suggested.

"Sounds good," Kay said. Lydia nodded.

"Yeah. The club won't be open anyway, so we don't have to work," Lydia said. "Mr. Sc...I mean Ja...uh...Boss man is having some maintenance stuff being done in the club," she stated to the meal companions who weren't fellow coworkers at the club. "Ooh, how about we all get together and watch Grey's Anatomy?"

"Oooh, how about I shove your plastic fork in my eye?" Mat said. Lydia looked at him. "Yeah, no, I'm never watching that show ever again...especially with you. I'm sorry, I really don't need to know the differences between 'McDreamy', 'McSteamy', or...McWhatever the hell else is there."

"Party pooper," Lydia pouted.

"Anyway, so, my place, 7 o'clock sound good with everyone?" Mat asked. Lydia and Kay nodded. Mat turned to Gabby who had been thoughtfully chewing on the end of her fork throughout most of the conversation. "How about you?" He asked.

"Huh?" Gabby asked, blinking, surprised that she was being addressed. "Oh...uh, yeah, sure, that's fine," she said. Lydia smirked.

"You sure your mommy and daddy will let you be out that late?" She asked, earning her a stern look from Mat and Kay. "What? I promised I wouldn't call her Pollyanna and I didn't...what more do you want from me?" Gabby looked down at her food and jabbed at her pasta with her fork.

"I don't know, will your pimp let you out that late?" She muttered, noticing Lydia's somewhat 'daring' choice in an ensemble that consisted of a green tube top and tight jeans. Her three companions nearly gave themselves whiplash from turning their heads to Gabby so fast. Gabby paused and looked up. "...O...Oh...I...I...I didn't...uh...I didn't mean to say th...that out loud..."

"Damn girl," Lydia exclaimed, smirking at Gabby. "You kept those claws well hidden. I'm impressed."

"Yeah," Kay said. "For a second there I wasn't sure I heard correctly."

"I'm sorry," Gabby said, feeling rather sheepish. Lydia shrugged.

"Don't even worry about it." She laughed.

"Okay," Gabby said. She looked at her watch. "Oh, I...I've got to go, I've got advanced calc in fifteen minutes," she said as she got up.

"Advanced calc? Ouch," Lydia said. "Didn't know you were a math major," she said.

"I'm not," Gabby said. "Anyway, I guess I'll see you guys later," she said as she put her bag on her shoulder and gathered her food stuff. She went to the nearby trashcan and threw out her food and water before leaving the lunch room. Mat watched as she left. He looked back at Lydia and Kay.

"I'll be back," he said before getting up and jogging out of the room.

Outside of the lunch room, Mat caught sight of Gabby making her way to the exit of the building. He jogged over to her.

"Gabby, wait up," he said. Gabby stopped and turned back to him.

"Hey," she said as he came to a stop before her.

"Hey," he said. "Listen, I just wanted to apologize for Lydia. She has a tendency to be..."

"A little antagonistic?" Gabby offered. Mat smiled.

"Actually, I was going to say 'a heinous bitch at times', but that works too," he said, causing Gabby to give a slight chuckle.

"It's okay," she said.

"I wouldn't take it as her disliking you or anything. She just.."

"Has a caustic personality?" Gabby asked. Mat chuckled.

"Speaks her mind...without a whole lot of regard of offending people."

"Oh," Gabby said. She shrugged. "It's okay," she said. "I mean, it's a...um...personality quirk...it makes her interesting, I suppose."

"That's an incredibly diplomatic way of looking at it," Mat said. Gabby gave a slight smile and nodded. The two stood there for a moment, as if they were engulfed in the moment.

"Uh..." Gabby finally said, feeling a little nervous and awkward by just standing there. "I really should...um..."

"Oh right, yeah, you need to get to class," Mat said. "I'll see ya," he said. Gabby nodded. She gave him a small wave before exiting the building.

Mat watched her leave. He smiled gently before turning back and returning to the lunch room. He began to make his way to the table where Kay and Lydia where, but decided to take a detour. He went over to the table at the other end of the lunch room, where Josh sat alone.

Josh looked up as Mat approached. He set down his BLT and wiped his mouth with a napkin, as if preparing to whatever Mat had to say to him.

"Hey man," Mat said. Josh simply gave a dismissive hum in response. "Why don't you come join us?" He asked.

"No thanks," Josh said. Mat sighed, seeing that Josh was not planning on making this easy.

"Come on," he said. "We're all friends, no need to play Mr. Loner or anything."

"Friends?" Josh asked, his expression a mixture of incredulous and amused. "Listen buddy, just because the five of us got these little necklaces and have to fight monsters together doesn't mean we're suddenly best pals."

"It seemed like you were singing a different tune when we were all fighting together," Mat declared, thinking about the five of them morphing for the first time, working together. It almost seemed like, at least to Mat, as if the two of them were working like a finely tuned machine.

"Whatever, man," Josh said, turning his attention back to his food, indicating the conversation was over. Mat rolled his eyes.

"Right," he said. "Anyway, we're all hanging at my place on Thursday at 7, as a team, so it'd be nice if you showed up."

"I'll check my schedule," Josh muttered sarcastically. Mat shook his head, wondering why he even tried.

"You do that," he said before walking away.


	4. Beautiful Friendship Part 2

Later that night, Kay lay sprawled out along the red couch that she and Hannah had split for their room, her eyes glued to the television. Tuesday night television (Next to Monday's and Thursdays), meant awesome shows. Tuesday meant NCSI at 8, Veronica Mars at 9 and Law & Order: SVU at 10. Hannah, who had class till 8:30, never got to catch NCSI, but was always present for the later two. It was nearing 9pm, meaning that Veronica Mars was about to start when the door to their shared room burst open, revealing Hannah.

"I'm not late am I?" She asked. Kay shook her head.

"No, you've got about 5 or so minutes until V.Mars starts." She replied, eyes never leaving the TV. Hannah grinned and kicked off her shoes before sliding down at the front of the couch. There was silence for a few minutes until the ending credits of NCIS began to roll and Kayleigh vaulted herself off the couch, just barely missing Hannah's head.

"Bathroom break!" Kay called as she sprinted out of the room and into the hallway. Hannah just shook her head and quickly flipped the channel to the CW. She aimlessly watched the commercials for a few moments before there was a knock at the door. Hannah pushed herself up and headed over to the door. She opened it and saw that Riley was standing in front of her.

"Hi Riley." She smiled, letting him into the dorm room. Riley grinned.

"Hey Hannah, Kayleigh around?" he questioned. Hannah nodded as the person in question came sprinting back into the room.

"It's starting!" She yelled as she flew onto the couch and resumed her position that Hannah had found her in. Hannah took a quick look at Riley before sprinting into the same room that Kay was in. Riley's eyebrows rose slightly before approaching the girls with caution.

"Uh, Kay I was wondering…" Kay held up her hand and pointed to the television.

"Talk during Veronica Mars and we'll be forced to kill you." She replied, eyes never leaving the screen. Riley blinked and looked at her. Hannah shot a glance at him.

"You're more than welcome to stay." She commented. "Just don't talk." She chuckled. Riley nodded, a forced laugh coming out of his mouth before he sat on the floor next to Hannah. Kayleigh's eyes were peeled from the tv screen as she watched Riley take a seat next to Hannah. She observed the two with wary eyes. _Why's he sitting next to her? _Her mind grumbled. She turned her eyes back to the screen, yet she couldn't seem to focus on the plot of the episode. About 15 minutes into the episode, Kay gave up trying to figure out what was happening. She pushed herself off the couch and headed towards the door.

"Uh, Kay? Where are you going?" Hannah asked. Kay shrugged as she opened the door.

"Out." She replied, slamming the door loudly as she left.

"Uh...okay...then..." Hannah said, completely bewildered. Riley looked at her.

"What was that about?" He asked. Hannah simply shrugged.

"PMS?" She offered. Riley blinked and looked at her, before raising his eyebrow again and nodding. "Riiiight." He replied as he focused back on the television. Meanwhile, Kayleigh pounded down the stairs and out the front doors of her residence hall, heading towards the gym. Kay quickly entered the building and headed towrads the change rooms to put her leo on. After she finished changing, Kay headed out into the main room and hit the lights. She turned the radio on while she was at it and began warming up. After she spent ten minutes stretching and warming up, Kay took off her ankle socks and walked over to the part of the floor where the hardwood ended and the blue matt streneched out the rest of the way, dropping her socks at the edge of the matt. Kay rolled her shoulders a bit as she made her way to the balence beam. She hopped up onto the beam and waited a moment for the radio to switch to a new song before she started into her routine.

Kay held her arms up, stretched as her fingertips pointing towards the walls at her side as she gracefully walked across the beam. Once she reached the end of the beam, she went up on the tips of her toes and did a slight about face. She moved her arms up, holding them high above her head before leaning forward and going into a handstand on the beam, her pointed toes pointing to the ceiling before she slowly seperated them, doing a split in the air and joining her legs together once again. She held this pose for a long while, which was part of her work out to strengthen her arms. After a short while, she spread her legs sideways before bringing herself back down to the beam as she sat on it in a straddle position.

From her sitting position on the beam, Kay laid her hands flat on the beam in front of her, swinging her legs back and forth a bit before swinging them back and lifting up her feet to plant them on the beam and standing back up.

Kay held her arms up above her head again as she arched backwards and did a back flip off the end of the beam, landing perfectly on the matt. Kay stood up straight with her arms up, holding the pose until the song on the radio ended. The clapping broke her concentration as she looked over to the entrance and saw Lydia standing by the bleachers.

"That was cool," Lydia said, giving Kay a smile. Kay smiled back and stood in a relax stance.

"Thanks," Kay said. She noticed that Lydia was holding a medium sized workout bag. "I didn't know you did gymnastics too," Kay said, figuring Lydia had had the same thought as she had. Lydia gave her a blank look before blinking, getting what she meant and looking at her bag.

"Oh no, I'm not," she said. "There's dance rooms upstairs," she said.

"Oh right, I forgot about that," Kay said. Lydia grinned.

"So what are you doing here so late?" Lydia questioned. Kay shrugged.

"Just getting in a work out before bed," Kay said. "You?" She asked.

"Wanted to work on my routine for the recital a bit, work in some changes I came up with earlier today," she said. Kay nodded.

"When's you're recital?" She questioned. Lydia was silent for a moment.

"Two weeks from Saturday." She replied.

"Wow, it's coming up," Kay said. Lydia nodded. "Getting nervous?" She asked. Lydia shrugged.

"Nah, not really," she said before pausing. "Okay, maybe a little," she admitted, laughing a bit, Kay smiled. Lydia sighed. "Mat's been telling me there's no need to be nervous, you know, since I've been doing this for so long...but I guess old habits die hard," Lydia said. Kay nodded, then paused, the mention of Mat sticking out in her mind. She walked over to Lydia and sat at the edge of the matt.

"So...what's going on between you two? I mean...are you guys, you know..."

"Together?" Lydia asked, she laughed. "Oh no..no no," she said, shaking her head as if the mere idea of dating Mat was ludacris. "No, we've just been friends since like, forever. He's like a brother to me."

"Oh," Kay said. Lydia fixed her with a amused look.

"Why? Do you like him?" She asked. Kay laughed a bit and shook her head.

"No," she said. Kay looked down at the matt.

"No, there's another guy I'm interested in… Yet he seems to have a thing for my roommate who doesn't like him like that… It's… Complicated… I think." Kay rambled. Lydia looked at her.

"You we're one of those girls in high school that always had the boy drama weren't you?" She chuckled.

Kay laughed. "Uh no, not really," she said. She put her socks back on. "I was more the girl who girls hated because I was friends with all the guys they wanted." Lydia nodded.

"Uh huh, and they spread rumors about you being 'more then friends' with them because they were a bunch of jealous bitches, right?" Lydia asked. 

"Bingo," Kay said, chuckling. "It was even worse when the rumor's surrounded the fact that all the guys I was friends with, we're only friends with me because I was a gymnist and I can supposedly do all sorts of weird and sexual things with my body." Kay shrugged as Lydia laughed.

"Apparently being able to put your legs over your head is a good sex move." Lydia giggled.

"So what about you, what girl where you in high school?" She asked. Lydia smirked. 

"I was the other type of girl the jealous bitches hated--The one the guys they wanted wanted," she said. Kay lifted an eyebrow.

"Ah," Kay said. 

"Not to say I'm some huge headed conceided person or anything," Lydia said, shrugging a bit.

"So, this guy," Lydia said, indicating she was switching back to Kay's man trouble. "You really like him?" Kay shrugged, trying to be nonchalant.

"I just met him less then a week ago...I thought he liked me, I mean he asked me out...kind of..."

"Kind of?"

"I mean, he asked if I wanted to do something sometime..."

"Ah," Lydia said, nodding. "Hmm," she said, looking like she was doing some deep thinking.

"What?" Kay asked.

"Well," Lydia began, "if he asked if you wanted to do something sometime, technically the ball's in your court now,"

"It is?" Kay asked.

"Yeah, I mean he indicated that he'd like to go out with you sometime...so, you could either wait until he gives a definate plan, but you could also just do it yourself."

"I see..." Kay said. Though she wasn't as knowledageble about dating as Lydia seemed to be, Kay had done her fair share of dating in her life. Sure, being the girl all the guys were friends with gave her the repuation of being a tomboy, but every so often a guy came along who liked the fact that this was a girl who didn't see watching monday night football with him as torture, and they'd ask her out. But Riley wasn't like those guys. Those guys had been her friends who she had slowly moved into a relationship with. She knew them, she knew what they thought and where they were coming from. She didn't know anything about Riley.

"I have much to teach you, young Padawan learner," Lydia joked, tearing Kay from her thoughs. Kay laughed.

"Although," Lydia said "something tells me I should save my Jedi teachings for Gabby, she looks like she desperately needs it." 

"Aw come on, she's not that bad," Kay said. Granted, she barely new the girl in question, but she still felt a need to defend her.

"Oh come on, the girl is so clueless," Lydia replied, shaking her head. "You've seen how she clams up and turns beet red when Mat's around."

"Wait, Gabby likes Mat?" Kay asked, confused. Lydia laughed a bit.

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed," she said, causing Kay to shrug.

"She's shy, I just figured that was just her...being her." She shook her head. "Besides, I don't know, I'm kind of feeling uncomfortable talking about her behind her back like this, it doesn't seem fair." Lydia nodded.

"Wow, you're playing into the whole wise and just leader role, aren't ya?" Lydia asked, smiling a bit to show she was only joking. Kay laughed

"I wear the responsibility with pride and a smug sense of superiority," she said, making Lydia chuckle.

"Which Josh just loves," Lydia snicked. Kay wrinkled her nose a bit.

"Oh, so you're the gossip of the group, eh?" She asked. Lydia shrugged.

"Gossip's such a harsh term. I prefer scandalous informer," Lydia joked. "Anyway, I better go upstairs and work on my dance, I'll catch ya later," she said as she gave a small wave to Kay before making her way to the stairs. She paused briefly and turned back to Kay. "May I suggest you go get your man before he falls into your roommate's clutches?" She said.

Kay rolled her eyes. "Bye Lydia," she said. Lydia laughed and left, her footsteps scampering up the stairs. Kay sighed and got up from the matt, deciding that she needed to get to the bottom of her problems. She walked back to the locker room and changed out of her workout gear and into her clothes. She stuffed her red leotard and black shorts into her workout bag before zipping it shut and slinging it over her shoulder as she walked out of the door and left the gym, making her way back to her dorm. She got back and saw Hannah sitting on the couch, watching the begininng of NCIS. 

"Hey," Hannah greeted as Kay shut the door and set her bag down on the floor. "You missed the rest of Veronica, but I taped it for you," she said. Kay bit her lip.

"Where's Riley?" She asked. Hannah made a puzzled face at Kay's somewhat harsh tone but decided to disregard it.

"He left about a minute after you stormed out," Hannah replied.

"I didn't storm," Kay replied defensively. Hannah sighed and pressed a button on the remote control.

"I guess I'll be taping NCIS too," she said before shutting off the tv and focusing her attention on Kay. "All right, what's crawled up your butt and died?" She asked. Kay crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at her roommate.

"So, what happened when I left?" Kay asked.

"What are you talking about?" Hannah asked. 

"Well, you and Riley were all alone, so what happened?" She asked. Hannah's eyebrows rose at what was being implied.

"Oh my g...Are you serious?" Hannah asked. Kay shrugged. Hannah sighed and stood up, walking over to her. "Okay first of all, I'm not into Riley. Second of all, even if I was, I so would not go there. We're friends, and friends don't go after friend's love interests."

"Yeah, sure," Kay said, not believing her. Hannah's eyes widened as they filled with a mixture of hurt and disbelief. 

"I cannot believe this," Hannah stated. "You really think I'd backstab you like that?"

"Well, he obviously likes you," Kay replied. Hannah made a face at that.

"...Right, he obviously likes me. And showing up late the other night and asking you out was what...a ploy to get to me?" Hannah asked. "Do you actually hear yourself saying this or has stupidity deafened you in both ears?" Hannah asked.

"Oh, so now I'm stupid?" Kay asked. 

"You are if you actually think this crap," Hannah retorted. Kay's jaw tightened as she glared at her roommate. 

"Fine, then why did he sit next to you earlier?" Kay asked. Hannah stared at her for a long moment before laughing and shaking her head. "What's so funny?" Kay asked.

"That's what this is about?" Hannah asked between chuckles. "...You're upset that he sat down next to me...as supposed to sitting where? The couch you were laying spread out on, thereby taking up all the room so there was no where for anyone else to sit?" She asked. Kay blinked, realizing she had a point, but her stubbornness refused to let her back down.

"Yeah...well...he...I...I mean..." Kay sputtered, not sure where to go from there. "...Shut up!" Kay exclaimed, which only encouraged Hannah's laughter. Hannah continued laughing as the two friends wrestled on the couch. After a short while, Hannah was able to knock Kay off of her and onto the floor. Kay's behind hit the floor with a soft thud, throwing the both of them into a joint laughing fit. Kay laid on the floor as the two rode out the attack of the giggles..

After a while, both of them were able to calm down and stayed in their positions on the floor and couch as they caught their breath. Hannah smacked Kay's shoulder.

"Now then, apologize to the roommate," she said. Kay rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"For?"

"For jumping to the wrong conclusions," Kay said. 

"I was actually going for 'for being an insane psycho' but that works too," Hannah said.

"How nice of you to accept my apology," Kay replied sarcastically. Hannah grinned. 

"Oh yeah, I'm such a saint," she replied. The two remained in their positions silently for a moment before Hannah spoke again. "Oh, by the way, expect a call from Riley," she said. Kay looked up at her. "Before he left, he told me to tell you he'd call you later," she said. Kay's eyes widened as she jumped up to her feet.

"And you're just telling me this now?!" She excalimed. Hannah laughed.

"Well, you didn't exactly give me a chance to tell you between accusing me and pummeling me on the couch, now did you?" Hannah replied. Kay thought about it for a moment.

"No, I guess I didn't." She replied.

"He said he'd call tomorrow afternoon after class," she said. Kay's face lit up with a bright grin before curling her legs beneath herself and making herself comfortable on the other end of the couch. Hannah fixed her with a steely glare. 

"I will forever regret telling you how ticklish I am," she said as she sat up. "Little did I know you'd use that admission for your own advantage," she said. Kay laughed and held her hands up in front of her own face, blowing at her finger tips as if they were loaded guns. Hannah rolled her eyes.

"What can I say, these babies are lethal weapons," Kay smirked. Hannah groaned and grabbed one of the throw pillows on the couch before throwing it directly at Kay's head. Kay made a "oomph," noise as the pillow collided with her face.

"Hey, lets not start this again." Kay laughed as she tossed the pillow across the room.

Yeah, I guess you're right," Hannah said. Kay stood up from the couch and stretched a bit.

"I think I'm going to go head off to bed, I'm tired," she informed. Hannah gave a dismissive nod as her friend/roommate went to her bedroom.


	5. BF interlude: Outtakes and Bloopers pt 1

Note: Hey guys, its Syd and Z here. We got an idea to, while we are working on the next chapter of the story, we'd give you guys some "bloopers/outtakes". Here's the first set of bloopers, from chapters 1-4. Bloopers will probably show up every few chapters, more frequently if you guys really want them. Anyway, hope you all like 'em.

----

Kayleigh Johnson slumped down in her physics class, resting her chin in her palm. Her eyes drooped as Professor Jones droned on an on about velocity. She sat back in her chair and placed her hands on her lap, making sure they were under her desk. She stared down at her hands. Kayleigh paused as her brows furrowed in confusion as she continued looking at her nails for a while before giving up. She looked up from her desk and cast her eyes off stage.

"Uh, I think they're broken," she said before sighing and standing up and walking off. Behind her, one of the 'students' leaned over to a fellow 'classmate'.

"Man, her hair is like fire engine red…."

----

"Uh...well...I...I once read somewhere that like...everyone has a sixth sense for danger...you know, the whole hair standing at the back of your neck kind of thing...Maybe something told you this guy wasn't just going to back off..." Gabby said.

"...Yeah, but it wasn't like I sensed it...I heard someone say it...It kind of sounded like you, to be honest," Mat said. Gabby gasped softly as her apple dropped from her hand. Mat stared down on the apple on the ground as Gabby opened her mouth to speak. She gave a startled jump as Mat suddenly ducked down and plucked the apple from the ground. "Five second rule!" He exclaimed excitedly before taking a bite out of the apple. Gabby shook her head, laughing.

----

"Hey, Holly?" Kayleigh said, as she approached the blonde, making her stand up from the floor.

"What?"

"I'm sure the judges will deduct points from your swollen nose," she replied calmly.

"Swollen wha…" Before Holly could finish, Kayleigh's fist slammed into the girl's nose. Holly looked at the girl and smirked. "Is that the best you could do?" She asked. Kay raised her eyebrows.

"All right, stand still and we'll try this again," she said, trying not to laugh as she grabbed her in a fake headlock as they both laughed.

---

"You don't want to be afraid anymore, do you?" Hefaris said. Gabby's eyes gleamed over.

"No..." she said, her voice distant, lost. "I don't..." she said. Hefaris paused as he tried to remember his next line.

"Uh……..now, when I snap my fingers, you will do the chicken dance," he said. Gabby snorted and laughed as Kimberly, Sajno and the Rasprites doubled over in chuckles.

---

"Good. Now let's try and figure a way out of here." Kimberly slowly paced around the room as she tried to figure out a plan. "You said you couldn't read the Rasprites' minds, right?" She asked.

"Actually, I could," Gabby said. "They all had 'I Feel Pretty' from West Side Story going on in their heads."

"My god, these creatures are truly evil," Kimberly said.

---

"This way," Kimberly said, she put a hand on Gabby's shoulder and led her to another room. They stopped in their tracks as they found, instead of an empty room like they expected, a line of Rasprites with Sajno standing before them as the Rasprites tried to pull off a choreographed dance number. Sajno sighed and clapped his hands, signaling the Rasprites to stop.

"No, no, no," he said. "You!" He exclaimed, pointing to a Rasprite at the end of the line. "I don't know where you learned to count, but please shoot them in the head! You are totally off count!" Sajno sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "At this rate, we will never be ready for the company talent show."

---

"God I hate Mondays." She muttered as she headed for the stairs. Kayleigh heaved a heavy sigh as she practically galloped down the stairs, careful to hold onto the banister so as not to fall. Thinking she'd reached the bottom of the stairs, Kayleigh released her hand from the railing and misjudged her footing. Her feet became entangled with each other on the way to the next step and she careened into the railing of the stairwell. "Damnit! Now I really hate Monday's!" Kay laughed as she picked herself up.

---

"Ooh, how about we all get together and watch Grey's Anatomy?" Lydia asked.

"Oooh! Definitely! I can't wait to see what happens between Meredith and McDreamy this week!" Mat exclaimed with an excited squeal. Lydia opened her mouth then paused.

"Wait, what?" She asked. She looked around, confused. "That wasn't his line, right?" Kay and Mat chuckled.

---

"Hey," Mat said. "Listen, I just wanted to apologize for Lydia. She has a tendency to be..."

"A little agnostic?" Gabby offered, only to scrunch up her face. "I mean-"

"Well, actually I was going to say 'a little antagonistic'……..Since that's the friggen line!" Mat exclaimed with mock frustration. Gabby laughed.

"Well, I wasn't sure what her religious preference was, so…."

"No, no, ya know what? I can't work with all these screw ups!" Mat yelled as he threw his hand up and walked off. "I'll be in my trailer!" He yelled.

---

After she spent ten minutes stretching and warming up, Kay took off her ankle socks and walked over to the part of the floor where the hardwood ended and the blue matt stretched out the rest of the way, only to trip on the edge of the matt and stumble onto her knees.

"Not again!" Kay exclaimed through hysterical laughter.

---

After she spent ten minutes stretching and warming up, Kay took off her ankle socks and walked over to the part of the floor where the hardwood ended and the blue matt stretched out the rest of the way, only to pause as she saw Mat stretched out on the floor, in the midst of fake exaggerated sobs.

"Uh……what's going on here?"

"Well," Mat said as he sniffled and wiped at his eyes, "the shooting scheduled said something about a blue Mat in gym, so….." Mat said, offstage the sound of laughter coming from several cast and crew members could be heard.

---

"Mat's been telling me there's no need to be nervous, you know, since I've been doing this for so long...but I guess old habits die hard," Lydia said. Kay nodded, then paused, the mention of Mat sticking out in her mind. She walked over to Lydia and sat at the edge of the matt.

"So...what's going on between you two? I mean...are you guys, you know..."

"Together?" Lydia asked, she laughed. "Oh yeah, he's my little love slave," she said as she stuck her thumb over her shoulder, towards the door. "I've got him tied up in my room right now."

"Really? I'd love to see that," Kay said.

"Well come on, honey, let's go!" Lydia exclaimed as Kay went over to her and the two girls walked out. Back in the gym; Gabby, Kimberly, as well as all the other female cast and crew members walked on set and excitedly followed Lydia and Kay out the door.


	6. Beautiful Friendship Part 3

Gabby sighed as she sat herself down in the empty lounge in her dorm hall. She was pretty much banished from her room……again……..thanks to her roommates less than empty social calendar. _Another morning with a sore neck and shoulders, great, _she internally grumbled as she thought of all the other nights when her room was otherwise occupied. She'd end up having to sleep in the lounge. After it happened a few times, Gabby had the foresight to go into the room while Lisa would still be in class and make sure to stuff a small blanket in her bag. If she had to be kicked out of her room for the night, at least she'd try to be somewhat comfortable. Gabby sighed again and opened her bag, slowly pulling out the contents within. She pulled out her books, notebooks, pens and the thin white blanket she'd brought for the night. She let the blanket rest on the end of the couch she was on as she began to fill the time with studying. The sounds of laughter and giggling caught Gabby's attention, making her look up. Her heart sank so fast at what she saw; the speed could've gone into the Guinness book of world records. There, walking through the lounge towards the bedrooms, was Lisa hand in hand with…….Mat. As always, Lisa pretended to not even see her as she continued to walk on by. Mat, on the other hand, saw Gabby sitting there. Gabby caught herself staring and quickly looked back down at the open textbook on her crossed legs.

"Hey," she heard. She looked up to see that Mat had stopped walking and was giving her a slight smile. Lisa had walked ahead and seemed a little annoyed to see that her date had stopped.

"Oh, hi," Gabby said nonchalantly. A part of her wished he'd leave it at that simple greeting and continue on his way with Lisa but another part of her wished he'd stay. She did not want to witness the fact that Mat was Lisa's companion for the evening but at the same time she knew exactly what would happen if he was to go into the room with Lisa and that knowledge would do little to help her already sunken heart.

"What's up?" Mat asked. Gabby couldn't help it as the corner of her mouth quirked up into a private smirk at the sound of Lisa's annoyed huff.

"Nothing much," Gabby said. "Just studying and you?" She asked.

"He's on a date," Lisa interjected in a haughty tone. Gabby looked back at Lisa before looking back at Mat, and was a little confused by the uncomfortable stance he now bore.

"Yeah," Mat mumbled. Gabby pursed her lips for a second before nodding.

"Well, I won't keep you two then," she said as she lowered her head back to her book.

"Uh…….I guess I'll see you later," Mat said before going over to join Lisa as the two walked away together.

--

Mat was quiet as he and Lisa walked into her room. He simply let her lead him, which was why he was a little caught off guard when once the dorm room door closed behind them, she pushed him against the door and began attacking his lips with her own. Mat put his hands on her waist and gently pushed her back.

"Whoa, whoa," he said, chuckling gently. "Slow down." Lisa laughed huskily before pressing up against his chest.

"Slow down? That's cute," she said as her hands went for the hem of his shirt. Mat sighed and quickly maneuvered himself out from between Lisa and the door. He privately rolled his eyes at being in this situation again. Every time he went out with Lisa, it was always the same thing. All throughout dinner or whatever outing they're at, she'd act like a demanding, possessive sex bunny. She'd become huffy and annoyed if he even acknowledged any other being other than her, even if it was just one of his band mates or friends. He wasn't disrespectful enough to actually flirt with another girl while on a date with anyone but it seemed as though Lisa expected his world to revolve solely around her. That plus the fact that she'd expect sex any second they were alone were the main things why he never thought to see her as a exclusive girlfriend and not just an occasional date like with Lena and the others. _Although, _he thought to himself, _at least the other girls have a bit more depth to work with here and don't just treat me like a walking, talking sex object. _But alas, it was Mat's inability to reject people that kept him always agreeing to see Lisa again. "What's your problem?" Lisa huffed.

"Nothing, I just…" he paused as he tried to come up with a good enough excuse to get out of the room. "I've got an early class tomorrow," he said. For once he was grateful for Lisa's self involved nature. If the two had actually talked and become friends, she'd know he never took classes before noon. "I can't stay out too late," he gave her a smile. "Why start something we can't finish?" Lisa sighed.

"Fine." She agreed, her anger evident in her tone. Mat shrugged his shoulders lightly.

"Sorry?" He offered. Lisa huffed, pushing hair out of her eyes.

"Whatever." She replied. "Goodnight, I guess." On one hand, Mat felt bad for pissing her off. But on the other hand, it meant she wouldn't try to coax him into staying. He walked over to her, feeling a mixture of relief and guilt when she moved away from the door, not even bothering to usher him out. Mat sighed and turned to her, wanting to do something to ease his guilt. He leaned towards her and placed a polite kiss on her cheek. As he went to turn and leave, he felt Lisa grab his face in her hands and drag his lips back to her own. He simply stood there as she gave him what, to anyone else, could've been a very hot and steamy kiss. Once she was done, she gave him a saucy smile. "Why don't you blow off that early class?" She asked, her expression showing that she was pretty sure that kiss had effectively changed his mind.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I really should go," she said. Lisa's face fell as she glared at him, giving an annoyed sigh as she stepped away from him.

"Fine," she said. Like a light switch, her annoyed expression turned into that of a coy kitten as she curled a lock of her blonde hair in her finger. "Call me?" She asked.

"Uh yeah, sure," he said in a rushed tone as he left the room. Once the door closed behind him, he sighed and rested his forehead on the nearby wall. "Idiot," he muttered to himself. He hated himself for always letting his kind nature get the better of him and never telling Lisa what he **really**thought of her. At least then he'd never have to be subject to spend hours of listening her talk on and on about mind numbing subjects like what "heinous" outfit some classmate was wearing the other day. _And this is why I don't do girlfriends, _he reminded himself. Having to feel obligated to listen and spend time with the same person day in and day out just didn't seem like something he'd want to do unless there was a gun to his head. Besides, he'd figure, having Lydia as a best friend was enough constant regular female companionship he needed. Although Lydia was the clone of Mary Sunshine herself compared to Lisa. He was a little surprised by the mental image he received when he thought of the concept of a 'Mary Sunshine'. _I wonder what Gabby's up to _he pondered as he walked down the hall, making his way to the lounge. He stopped as he caught sight of her. Gabby was sitting with her back to him, hunched over, seemingly reading from a book resting on her lap. He contemplated whether or not it'd be wise to disturb her. On one hand, he didn't want to interrupt her studying. But on the other hand the only exit was through the lounge, meaning he'd have to pass her and after the obvious rude attitude Lisa had dished out to the girl, he didn't want to come off as rude by walking by her and not saying anything. He finally decided to chance disturbing her over being rude as he walked over to the couch. He simply sat on the other end of the couch, the added pressure to the couch jarring Gabby's attention away from the book. She looked up, seeing Mat beside her. Her eyes widened slightly at seeing him there before she blinked and gave him an inquisitive half smile.

"Hey," she said. Mat smiled and put his feet up on the coffee table in front of the couch.

"Hey," he said.

"Date end early?" She asked. Mat couldn't help smile a bit at the sort of hesitant tone in her voice, as if she was afraid of being rude by asking.

"I was just walking her to her dorm," Mat said. Gabby snorted. "What?"

"Nothing," Gabby said quickly. "I'm sorry, that was really rude of me," she said. Mat shrugged.

"Does it look like I mind?" He asked. Gabby looked at him and smiled softly, ducking her head a bit as a blush crept to her cheeks.

"Oh," she said. She shook her head. "It's nothing, I just…….well, I don't think Lisa would've kicked me out for the night….again….if you were just walking her home." Now Mat was caught off guard.

"….Oh…….She's……I mean……you're her roommate?" Mat sputtered. Gabby gave him a tight smile.

"Something tells me she doesn't exactly mention me often," Gabby said. _More like not at all, _Mat thought for a moment before shrugging his shoulders lightly.

"It might have come up...once or twice..." He trailed off. Gabby laughed.

"More like not at all." She countered. Mat chuckled lightly.

"Yeah, you're right..." He replied. He paused for a second, giving her a look. Gabby simply gave him a grin. "Wait a minute…" Gabby chuckled.

"Sorry, I know I'm not supposed to use my powers around you guys. I couldn't help it," she said. She shrugged. "I figured you'd be too polite to tell me the truth."

"Sorry," Mat said. Gabby shook her head.

"Don't be. It's nice. And as for my roommate……well, as you can see, we don't exactly get along so I really don't mind what she says or doesn't say about me."

"I just….I didn't think you guys even knew each other, the way she was with you before."

"Oh that?" Gabby asked. "That was just bitch-speak for 'hey roomie, how ya doing?'," she said, causing Mat to laugh. She paused. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"Don't be sorry," he said. He smiled. "You haven't been spending a lot of time with Lydia or something, have you?" He asked, implying on how much she was sounding like their fellow ranger. Gabby grinned.

"No, but she does seem to be rubbing off on me." She replied. There was a momentary silence before Gabby looked at her watch.

"Oh, am I keeping you from something?" He asked. Gabby looked at him and smiled gently.

"No, I just wanted to see how much time I should wait."

"Wait?" Mat asked. "For what?"

"Well, since you just walked Lisa home, I guess my banishment to the lounge is lifted for tonight. But something tells me it'd behoove me to wait a while, or else I'll be subject to Lisa somehow blaming me for you being here instead of in the room with her," Gabby rambled before pausing, covering her mouth slightly. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that," she muttered. She looked down at her book, shaking her head. "It's not my place to say anything about-" Mat cut her off by putting a hand on her shoulder. Gabby looked at him.

"Don't be sorry," he said, looking deeply in her eyes. Gabby looked at him, feeling her self get lost in his gentle gaze. She blinked, realizing how bad this might've looked--swooning over her roommate's date. She quickly looked away, effectively breaking the spell Mat had felt himself going under. He looked down at his lap before looking back at Gabby. He couldn't help smile at how nervous she looked as she tried to keep her eyes focused on the open textbook on her lap. "Hey," he said, catching her attention. "I was going to meet Lydia in the cafeteria, feel like waiting out Lisa while hanging out with us for a little while?" He asked. Gabby looked a little surprised that he was inviting her.

"Oh, uh……yeah……sure," she said. She closed the book on her lap.

"Awesome," Mat smile. He reached between them and picked her bag off the floor. He paused as he saw the small pillow in her bag and looked back at the folded up blanket on the couch. "I gather Lisa's done this to you before?" He asked. Gabby looked at what he was talking about and blushed sheepishly.

"Uh, yeah," she said. She showed that was the end of the conversation by reaching past him and picking up the blanket and stuffing it in the bag, continuing with the notebooks and other school items that were scattered before them. The two silently stood up as Gabby slung the bag over her shoulder before they left the lounge. A few minutes of small talk later, the two walked in to the cafeteria together to find Lydia sitting at a table, quietly eating a salad.

"Hey Lydz," Mat said as they approached the table. Lydia looked up at them, and after her momentarily shock, gave them a pleasant smile.

"Hey guys," she said. She watched as they sat down across from her, having a private smile at the fact that they were sitting next to each other.

"I hope you don't mind if Gabby hangs with us for a bit, do you?" Mat asked. Lydia masked her confusion, much to Mat's relief, and gave Gabby a smile.

"Course not. I mean, we're all supposed to be friends, right? Friends hang out together," Lydia said. Gabby smiled, an exhilarated feeling sweeping over her at being welcomed.

"Thanks," Gabby said. "Well, I guess I'm going to get some food," Gabby said before quietly excusing herself from the table. Mat watched as she walked away.

"'You don't mind if Gabby hangs out with us?'" Lydia asked. Mat looked at his longtime friend, seeing the amused look on her face. "What's that all about?"

"What?" Mat asked.

"Well, last time I check we weren't hanging out tonight. Last time I checked, you had a date…..and that doesn't look like psycho slut," Lydia said. Mat rolled his eyes.

"The date ended early. **Lisa **has an early class tomorrow."

"Bull," Lydia said bluntly. "Now, tell sistah Lyddie the truth…..before Gabby get's back." Mat sighed.

"I was going back to Lisa's room with her when we ran into Gabby. After we got to the room, I just……..didn't feel like spending the night," he paused as Lydia bore a knowing look. "What?"

"You just suddenly felt like not spending the night after seeing Gabby?"

"That's not at all what I meant," Mat said defensively.

"If you say so. Anyway, go on."

"Well, I went back to the lounge where Gabby was, and we just……talked for a bit. And I figured we'd come here………And……..I remembered you were practicing your dance routine tonight and you always come here for a late snack after you practice, so I kind of used you as a cover…." Mat said, ending his honest confession sheepishly.

"I see," Lydia said, taking in all the information. "What was Gabby doing out so late anyway?" Lydia asked. Lydia didn't quite peg Gabby to be far from her bed after nine on a school night.

"Apparently she was getting some studying in before going to sleep….in her dorm's lounge because her roommate kicked her out for the night. And three guesses who her roommate is." Lydia paused, trying to think, her eyes going wide after a few seconds.

"Don't tell me its psycho slut," Lydia said. Mat decided to ignore Lydia's nickname for Lisa and simply nodded. "Oooh," Lydia said, wincing. "Poor girl," she said. "And wow, that must've been awkward for her," Lydia said thoughtfully.

"What do you mean?" Mat asked. Lydia looked at him. _He really doesn't see it, does he? _Lydia mused; surprised Mat didn't see the obvious crush Gabby had for him.

"Seeing her roommate with a friend of hers," Lydia said.

"Oh," Mat said. "So, how was practice?" Mat asked.

"It was all right. "I actually ran into another friend of ours at the gym. Kayleigh was getting in a late practice too."

"Oh, she dances too?" Mat asked as his attention was briefly interrupted as Gabby slid back into the chair next to him with a bag of potato chips and a bottle of soda.

"No, she's a gymnast," Lydia said.

"Who's a gymnast?" Gabby asked.

"Kay," Lydia informed.

"Oh," Gabby said as she opened her bag of chips.

"So, I hear you're Lisa's roommate," Lydia said.

"Oh…I didn't know you two were friends," Gabby said, feeling a little put off over talking about her roommate. Lydia gave a short snort.

"Uh no," Lydia said. "I may be a slightly high maintenance sassy babe in total control of her self, but Lisa's just too prissy and a pain in the ass for me."

"Babe in tota…." Gabby muttered to herself before pausing as she caught what that meant. "Oh," she said, blushing sheepishly. Lydia smiled. _Okay, she's got the Sarah Plain and Tall thing down to a skill, but I do see some potential here, _she internally mused.

"So, Gabby, how about you tell us a little about yourself?" Lydia asked. "I mean, we should all get to know each other."

"Oh," Gabby said. "Uh, well," she mumbled, shrugging. "There isn't much to tell, really."

"Nonsense," Lydia insisted.

"Yeah," Mat said. "Do you have any siblings?" Mat asked, figuring it'd be easier for her if they asked her questions instead of just expecting her to talk. He already knew she had older brothers, from the brief conversation he had had with her after they all became rangers, but it was the only question he could think of. "I've got a younger brother and sister, Lydia has a younger sister, what about you?" Gabby nodded.

"I've got some brothers," Gabby said.

"Oh? How many?" Lydia asked, getting on Mat's wavelength.

"Um, four……I'm the youngest," she said. Lydia and Mat looked at her with eyes wide.

"So……there are five of you? Wow, that's……" Mat said.

"Man, it was hard enough growing up and sharing a bathroom with just one sister……I don't know if I could imagine multiplying that by four." Lydia said. Gabby laughed gently.

"It wasn't too bad growing up with them," Gabby said. "So, you two are the eldest in your families? What's that like?" She asked, feeling a little uncomfortable about being in the spotlight.

"It's like a second job," Mat laughed. "Don't get me wrong, Ren, my brother, he's the youngest, he's great. I mean, he's ten so he's not a whole lot a trouble," he laughed. "Ami, on the other hand…..all I can say is thank god I had Lydia around when we were teenagers, or else I'd think Ami was some sort of alien or something. Sixteen year old girls are just plain scary." Lydia rolled her eyes and smacked his shoulder playfully.

"Oh……so you two have been friends for a while?" Gabby asked, feeling a little jealousy brewing within her.

"Since the sandbox," Lydia said. Gabby nodded.

"Oh cool," she replied. Lydia nodded. She looked at Mat.

"Besides, Ami's nothing compared to Fiona," she said. She cast a look at Gabby. "Fiona's my little sister, she's fourteen……and a pain in my ass."

"Oh, please. She's exactly how you were at that age," Mat said with a grin.

"Uh, no, I don't think so," Lydia said, shaking her head.

"Uh, yeah," Mat replied. He smirked. "I'm sorry, you're right," he said. Lydia smiled triumphantly. "She's less of a handful." Lydia shot him a glare.

"I was a perfect angel," Lydia said. Mat scoffed.

"Do you really want me to go there?" He asked. Lydia stuck her tongue out at him. Gabby simply watched them banter back and forth.

"Anyway, on that note, I must depart, kids," Lydia said as she gathered her trash. "Need to get some reading done for class before bed."

"All right, see ya," Mat said as Lydia got up to throw her things away.

"Bye," Gabby said. Lydia gave them a wave as she left.

"You two seem really close," Gabby said to Mat once Lydia had left. Mat looked at her and smiled.

"We grew up right next door to each other," Mat explained.

"Oh," Gabby said. "So you two have a lot of history," Gabby said. Mat shrugged.

"I guess," Mat said. He smiled. "I mean, it's like I have two sisters instead of one."

"Oh," Gabby said, feeling her jealousy die down a bit. "You're like brother and sister," she concluded. Mat nodded. Gabby looked at him. "Can I ask you something?" She asked.

"Yeah, sure," he said.

"Well," she cautiously began. "Feel free to tell me to mind my own business…………but…..it seems to me like you don't like Lisa very much," she said. Mat looked over at the table where her open bag of chips lay. He gave her a look as if to ask permission, which was met with a nod. He took a chip out of the bag and popped it in his mouth.

"That wasn't a question," he said. "That was an honest observation," he added with a smile.

"What I mean….is….well, if you don't like her, then why are you her boyfriend?" She asked. Mat coughed as he choked on the chip. Gabby's eyes widened as she quickly gave him her soda to help him pass down the snack lodged in his throat. Mat quickly grabbed it and took a large gulp. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't-"

"It's okay," Mat finally said as he felt the chip slide down his esophagus with the help of the drink. He took another smaller sip to ease his now somewhat sore throat. "First of all," he began, "would you please stop apologizing?" He asked, giving her a small smile. "In just tonight, I've lost count of how many times you've said 'I'm sorry'."

"Oh," Gabby said. "I'm sor-" She stopped when Mat gave her a look. Gabby looked down with a sheepish smile. "Sorry," she whispered. Mat good naturally rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, to answer your question, I'm not Lisa's boyfriend," he said. Gabby looked up at him.

"Oh, good," she said quickly. She quickly caught herself. "I mean…..oh." Mat smiled.

"Would I be correct in assuming that you two don't exactly sit and braid each other's hair and chit chat every night?"

"Uh, yeah," Gabby said, laughing a bit and the sheer ludacrisy of the thought. She looked at him. "I really don't mean to be nosey," she said. "I….well……I mean Lisa's my roommate so……I know her……and I just didn't want it to be like……ya know……..you were in a position to get hurt," she said, she lowered her eyes as her cheeks blushed furiously. Mat looked at her. "I….I mean, because……..ya know, we're teammates and the team as a whole…….we're……um…….becoming friends……and I just-" Mat placed a hand on her arm to stop her.

"I get it," he said with a smile. Gabby slowly looked up. "And thanks for the concern," he said. Gabby nodded. "But don't worry, I mean, Lisa and I aren't serious, she's just like the other girls," he explained. Gabby's brows furrowed.

"Other girls?" She asked.

"Uh..." Mat trailed off. Gabby looked at him.

"What other girls?" She questioned. Mat sighed. This was a loaded question. It wasn't as if is casual look at dating was something he necessarily felt ashamed of. It was never like he used any of them. Lena and all the others were his friends, well save for Lisa who sometimes felt more like charity, and it was always known that anything that went on wasn't serious or symbol of a commitment. Sure, there were times when girls would find this distasteful and walk away from him, but for the most part a lot of them weren't looking for something serious from him, just someone to spend a pleasant evening with out of boredom or in some cases feeling upset from a recent break up. Aside from the girls he'd date, Lydia was the only one who truly knew and understood this since they'd been friends for so long. She tended to find it to be amusing. "Mat?" Gabby asked, breaking into his thoughts. Mat looked at her. Something about the way she was looking at him made any response he could think of catch in his throat. He'd never been ashamed of this. He never thought it was something to be ashamed of. He was young, playing the field was to be expected, and he always made sure his actions never hurt anyone involved, but for some reason he was finding it difficult letting Gabby know about this aspect of his life.

"It's nothing," he said. "I just mean that……you know, I date…….and it's not really serious….." He said after a while. Gabby blinked and turned in her seat, facing forward. She reached over and took her soda from him. She went to take a drink before pausing and setting the bottle down on the table.

"Oh," was all she said. "How many?" She asked, only to shake her head. "Wait, no, that's not my business, I'm sorry." Matt sighed.

"Too many." He replied under his breath. Gabby looked at him from the corner of her eyes.

"So…..you're like……a….." She cleared her throat for a second, "a…..player?" She asked. Mat bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. It was a little amusing to hear Gabby use that sort of word. Gabby seemed so pristine and innocent, Mat would never expect her to even know such lingo.

"Well I….." Mat began. "No," he said firmly. "I mean, it's not like I trick anyone into thinking I'm the boyfriend/girlfriend type and then avoid them or anything. I'm upfront and….." He paused, not understanding why he felt the need to justify his actions to someone he'd only known for a few days. "I just……wouldn't see it that way," he said with a shrug.

"So you just get around." Gabby supplied. Mat blinked, shocked.

"Wait, what……I mean it's not like that…." He said. Gabby turned in her seat to look at him. "I have friends…..who just happen to be girls…just because I may sometimes go out with them and……….stuff……..it's not like I'm a man-whore or something….." He excused.

"I see," she said. Mat looked at her.

"Are you judging me?" He asked. Gabby pursed her lips for a second before shrugging.

"No, it's none of my business," she said. She looked at her watch. "It's late," she said. "I should probably go back to my dorm." She slung her school bag over her shoulder and stood up. Mat quickly went to his feet.

"Wait," he said. "Uh……it's late, let me walk you," he said.

"I don't think that's a good idea," she quickly said, walking towards the exit of the cafeteria. Mat followed.

"So you _are_ judging me," he said. Gabby stopped and turned to him.

"No, I just don't think it'd be wise to have Lisa see you walking me home and get the wrong idea," she replied.

"And what idea would that be?" Mat responded. Gabby sighed.

"Good night, Yamato," she said before leaving.

--

The following morning, Kay unlocked her door the following morning and pushed back into her shared suite, sweat dripping off her forehead, clothing sticking to her. Her morning run had been a real workout this morning.

"Geez, what smells?" Came Hannah's voice as she shuffled around in the small kitchen alcove in the suite. "Oh, it's you," she said with a smirk.

"Very funny," Kay replied, wiping some hair off her forehead. Hannah grinned.

"I thought it was." She replied as she cracked an egg into a mixing bowl.

"What are you making?" Kay asked as she pulled her arm band holding her iPod off her arm and tossing it onto a nearby chair.

"Three cheese omelet," she replied. She cast a look over at her roommate. "I'd ask if you want one but, well, that was our last egg," she said, pointing to the cracked shell on the counter. Kay shook her head.

"That's okay," she said. "Besides, if I ate that much, I'd probably have to run a whole day just to work it off," she said as she reached for a box of Special K from the cupboard.

"Oh whatever Skinny Minnie," Hannah replied as she poked at Kay's side. Kay squirmed away.

"I'm not skinny." She replied. Hannah rolled her eyes.

"If you say so," she replied as she resumed cooking her breakfast. She smirked. "Anyway, whatever it is you are, it seems to be something Riley likes," she teased. Kay spun around so quickly that Hannah was convinced she'd hurt herself.

"What?" She questioned. Hannah grinned and continued preparing her food.

"Just an observation," she said. "And the fact he called while you were out. I'm sorry, but there should be a law permitting anyone from calling anyone before 8am," she said, obviously implying that Riley's phone call had woken her up.

"I thought you said he was calling me this afternoon, after class," Kay said, her voice laced with panic over missing the call.

"Hey, don't blame me," Hannah said as she dumped the items in the mixing bowl into a frying pan on the stove. "He told me he'd call this afternoon. It's not my fault you've got him so bewitched that he couldn't wait a few more hours."

"I don't have him bewitched." Kay replied as she poured milk over her cereal.

"Would hot and bothered be a more appropriate term?" Hannah teased as she used the spatula to flip her eggs.

"Hannah!" Kay exclaimed, scandalized.

"What?" Hannah replied innocently. Kay rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to eat in my room and then jump in the shower," she muttered as she walked to her room.

"Have a cold one!" Hannah called back.

"Shut it!" Came the response from behind Kay's closed bedroom door, which caused Hannah to chuckle. About half an hour later with her shower finished, Kay quickly wrapped her hair up into a towel and headed out of the bathroom. She heard the phone ring and bit her lip, a jolt of excitement going through her as she wondered if it was Riley calling again. She quickly went to the phone and picked it up. "Hello?" She asked.

"Hey Kay," came a feminine voice, making Kay's hopes plummet slightly. "It's Lydia,"

"Uh, hi," Kay asked, wondering what would prompt a phone call and briefly worrying if something ranger related had come up. "What's up?" She asked.

"Sorry to call so early, got your number from the school directory," Lydia said.

"No, it's fine," Kay replied. She paused, wondering if Lydia would answer her question. "So…uh…to what do I owe this phone call?"

"Yeah…..uh…..you need to talk to your girl," Lydia finally said. Kay blinked.

"Huh?" She said. She cast a look to the kitchen where Hannah was now cleaning up the dishes and cookware she'd used, wondering briefly how Lydia would know Hannah.

"Gabby," Lydia said.

"Gabby?" Kay replied, not understanding what she meant.

"Yeah. She's your friend, isn't she?" Kay's brows furrowed for a moment before shrugging, only to remember that Lydia had no way of seeing the movement.

"I……..I don't know………I mean, hey, I met her when I met you guys…….I….."

"Well, you two looked chummy when Mat and I sat down with you guys yesterday," Lydia replied. Kay sighed.

"Okay, whatever, what's wrong?"

"The girl totally hurt Mat's feelings!" Lydia explained.

"What are you talking about?" Kay asked. She wasn't exactly itching to have this sort of conversation while trying to get dressed and ready for the day but something told her Lydia would not be ignored.

"I don't know what happened, all I know is Mat called me last night and just…….was muttering all this stuff about Gabby judging him…….he seemed kind of bothered by it," Lydia said. Kay sighed, rolling her eyes.

"I'm sure whatever happened wasn't a big deal," she said.

"Look, Mat doesn't say stuff like that unless it's bothering him. So clearly, it's major." She replied. Kay sighed.

"Okay, fine, so something………you don't know what…….happened and Gabby might've said something…….you don't know what exactly……..that bothered Mat. What exactly do you want me to do?" Kay said as she took the cordless phone into her room to pick out her clothes for the day.

"I don't know," Lydia said. "I mean, you're the leader so…….I figured this would be your area of expertise." Kay sighed and shut her door to make sure Hannah didn't overhear anything she didn't need to hear.

"Look, I may be the leader when it comes to battling the bad guys," she said lowly, "but it doesn't mean I'm the group's moderator or something."

"So you're not going to do anything?" Lydia asked, annoyed.

"I…….I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I don't know Gabby, so what am I supposed to say 'yeah, whatever you did to bother Mat, another person I don't really know, it may or may not have been mean and you should apologize'?"

"Yes!" Lydia exclaimed. "Only, more authoritive, like you'll kick her ass if she doesn't do it." Kay rolled her eyes again.

"Bye Lydia, I need to get ready for class," she said, clicking the off button on the phone before Lydia could object. She tossed the phone on her bed as she let her towel drop to the floor and began getting dressed. She'd just gotten her jeans up and buttoned when the phone rang again. Kay sighed and snatched the phone up. "Lydia, if you're so upset just kick Gabby's ass yourself," she growled.

"Whoa," came a chuckling voice that was obviously not Lydia, making Kay's face fall. "Uh I don't know who Lydia and Gabby are……..but sure am glad I'm not them," the voice said. Kay blinked.

"Riley?" She squeaked out, feeling embarrassed.

"Right in one." He replied. Kay sighed. "Everything okay?" He asked.

"Oh yeah, just feeling kind of stupid," she admitted. Riley laughed.

"Hey, it's okay," he said. Kay snorted.

"If you say so." She replied. "So, uh, what's up?" She asked as she balanced the phone between her ear and shoulder while slipping her red blouse over her shoulders and working on the buttons down the front.

"Just calling to see if you wanted to do lunch today." He replied. Kay bit her lip as a smile grew on her face.

"Oh……yeah…….tha….that sounds great," she said.

"Awesome," Riley replied. "Well, my classes end at one today, is that a good time for you?" He asked. Kay furiously nodded before rolling her eyes.

"One is perfect," she replied. "I mean, I'm done with class at twelve, so….yeah," she said.

"Great," Riley said. "There's this place in town that has really great pizza…….maybe you could meet me at my dorm and we could…..go together," he suggested. Kay had to keep herself from jumping up and down from happiness and excitement.

"Yeah, that sounds great," Kay replied coyly.

"Awesome. I'm in Suite 614. If I'm not there Parker will let you in." He replied. Kay nodded, figuring Parker was his roommate and not feeling the need to question it.

"Okay," she said. "I'll see you then," she said. "Alright, bye." He replied hanging up. Kay shut off the phone and tossed it back on the bed before shutting her eyes and putting her arms up over her head and letting out a loud joyous shriek. Two seconds later, her door banged open as Hannah came barreling in.

"What happened?!" She exclaimed, having had heard her shrieking and thinking something horrible and horrendous had happened to her friend. Kay grinned.

"I'm going on a date!" She screamed before beginning to dance around her room. Hannah stared at her for a second.

"Riley called?" She figured. Kay stopped doing what could be best described as an epileptic's version of the Hustle long enough to nod.

"Ah." Was all Hannah could reply. "When?" She asked.

"Today, lunch," Kay replied, continuing her dance. Hannah's face fell.

"Oh," she said. Kay stopped and spun around to face her.

"'Oh'?" She asked. "Wha….What do you mean, 'oh'?" Hannah shook her head.

"No, I'm sure it….it's nothing," she assured.

"Sure what's nothing?" Kay demanded. Hannah put her hands up defensively.

"Really, it's nothing," she insisted.

"Hannah, spit it out," Kay said. Hannah sighed.

"Sorry, it's just….uh……lunch date……kind of…….well it doesn't exactly scream passionate love affair," she said, wincing lightly. "Don't hit me," she quickly squeaked out. Kay's hands dropped to her sides and she looked at her roommates.

"Oh." Hannah winced, feeling horrible for dashing her friend's hopes.

"But….well, what do I know? I mean, maybe he's busy at nights or…..or maybe he can't wait until the evening to see you……"

"Yeah," Kay muttered.

"Look, forget I said anything. I mean, he called and asked you out, so obviously there's something there," Hannah said, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. Kay shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." she replied, sounding slightly depressed about the revelation.

"Oh man, I should've just kept my big mouth shut," Hannah groaned. Kay shook her head and gave her a smile.

"No, its fine," she assured her.

"Doesn't seem like it." Hannah replied. "Don't listen to me," she said. "I mean hey, you know me, my relationships never last longer than a tic-tac, so what the hell do I know, right?" Kay smiled at her friend.

"Hey, that guy from the Lacrosse team seemed to stick around for a bit," she said.

"Uh huh, yeah before I caught him hanging around with that blonde bimbo skank," Hannah rolled her eyes. Kay winced. Hannah wasn't exactly the luckiest in the world when it came to relationships. She'd find some seemingly great guys yet somehow something always happened. She'd gotten them all—cheaters, commitment-phobics, guys mere months away from transferring to another school, one guy who had just enlisted in armed forces and was shipping out, she'd even had a guy who mid-way through their relationship came to the realization that he preferred men over women. Kay sighed.

"I dunno Han... Maybe he just sees me as a friend." She replied. Hannah shook her head.

"Believe me sweetie, the way you two were dancing at the Scott Club the other night……seeing you as a friend was the furthest thing from his mind," she said.

"Yes well unless lunch is magical and I somehow find myself naked in his bed. I doubt that it's more than friends." She replied.

"Give it time," Hannah said. She shrugged. "Hey, go to lunch with him and keep your eyes open for any signs," she suggested.

"Signs?" Kay asked.

"Ya know, if he does any gentlemen type stuff. Like, if he shows up with flowers when he picks you up or something." Kay's eyes widened. "……..He's not picking you up, is he?" Hannah asked, suddenly wishing again she'd kept her mouth shut.

"I'm meeting him at his room," Kay muttered.

"Well, at least he's not making you meet him at whatever place you're going to……I mean, he's still taking you out," Hannah said, desperately trying to look at the bright side.

"Uh huh. Sure Hannah." Kay sighed.

"Well there's other stuff," Hannah insisted. "Like…if he holds doors open for you and stuff,"

"So? Okay, it'll show that he's a gentlemen, but come on, don't tell me Jerry doesn't opens doors for you when you guys hang out," Kay countered. Hannah sighed and slowly nodded as she thought of the last time she went to the movies with her now totally out and happily gay ex boyfriend. "Opening doors doesn't exactly equate 'I want your bod'," Kay muttered. Hannah sighed before an idea struck her.

"If he pays!" Hannah exclaimed.

"What?"

"If Riley pays for your lunch……it'll tell you something," Hannah suggested.

"Yes, paying for lunch screams feelings towards me." She replied sarcastically. Hannah rolled her eyes.

"Honey, I don't care how much of a gentlemen a guy may be, he doesn't shell out cash for someone he doesn't see himself getting especially close to," she pointed out. Kay rolled her eyes and went over to pick up her school bag.

"I've got to head to class," she said. Hannah frowned.

"Are you okay?" She asked. Kay simply nodded before leaving. Kay's mind was in a whole different world as she made her way to class. She barely registered her professor's words during Organic Chemistry, nor did she acknowledge the chatter in the hallways as she made her way to her second class, American History. Before she knew it, it was already twelve. Her classes were done for the day and she'd be seeing Riley in an hour. She walked back to her suite and quickly changed into the outfit she'd picked out for lunch and grabbed her purse. She knew she still had a few minutes to kill, but she knew there was no harm in going upstairs early. She gave herself a quick once over in the mirror in her room before deciding to make a few changes as she let her purse drop on the floor and pulled her hair out of the ponytail it had been in. She let her dark curls fall and peered at the mirror, trying to decide the best way to have it. She let her curls fall forward, piling on her shoulders and framing her face before pushing them back and tucking her hair behind her ear, this went on for a few minutes before she finally gave up and left her hair on her shoulders before slapping on a little bit of makeup and spritzing on some perfume. She wasn't sure if Riley's intentions were romantic or platonic, but she figured it didn't hurt to look her best just in case. She figured if there were any platonic intentions, they'd quickly be changed. She quickly glanced at her watch and saw that it was already 1:10.

"Shit!" She exclaimed. She quickly picked up her purse and ran out the door. Kay sprinted up the stairs as fast as her legs would carry her and arrived at his door within minutes. Taking a deep breath, she knocked loudly. She waited a few moments before the door opened and someone looking suspiciously like Riley answered.

"You must be Kay," came the reply as the door opened wider, telling her she could come in. Kay laughed as she stepped past him.

"I know I'm late," she said, "but I didn't think it was late enough to forget what I looked like," she smirked somewhat flirtatiously before taking stock of his appearance. In terms of body shape and face, this person was Riley's carbon copy except when it came to his hair. When she saw Riley the night before, his hair had been cut short, a few inches spiked up with gel. The person standing before her had hair down to his ears, the ends flipped outwards. "Uh," she began, a little confused. "Did your hair magically grow over night?" She asked. 'Riley' laughed.

"Riley didn't tell you about me? I'm a little hurt," he joked. Kay blinked.

"You're Parker?" She asked. He smiled and stuck his hand towards her.

"That's the name, don't wear it out," he said with a wink. Kay slowly accepted the hand as the two shook hands.

"You're twins," she said, still surprised.

"Well, aren't you a smart cookie," he joked. Kay stuck out her tongue.

"He never said anything. You're just lucky I didn't try and give you a hug or anything." She replied. Parker grinned.

"Hey, believe me, I wouldn't have minded," he said, giving her another wink. Kay blushed.

"Parker!" Came an annoyed voice from deeper in the room as one of the bedroom doors opened. "Where the hell is the black shirt that was on my bed?!" Kay turned to see Riley standing there in jeans and a tight white undershirt. Kay bit her lip as the shirt perfectly sculpted his toned arms. His eyes widened at the sight of her. "Kay! I…..uh……hey," he muttered sheepishly. Kay smiled.

"Hi," she said softly. Riley blinked as his eyes focused on Parker and seeing that his brother was wearing the shirt in question. "Hey!" He said indignantly. Parker grinned.

"Sorry bro, didn't know you were planning on wearing this on your date," he said, fingering the collar as he spoke. Kay tried her best to hide her grin as she heard Parker refer to her plans with Riley as a date.

"Oh, of course, I just had it out on my bed for decoration," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Hey man, you can have the shirt back if you want, no need to cry about it," Parker said as he went to unbutton it.

"Should I leave?" Kay asked, feeling slightly awkward.

"Keep it," Riley quickly said to his brother before looking at Kay, his eyes softening. "Sorry, I'll be back in a minute," he said before disappearing back in his room. Parker shot a grin at Kay.

"Feel special... Normally he doesn't have any problem taking his clothing off anywhere." He replied heading into the kitchen. Kay blinked, trying to understand what that meant.

"Uh…k…" She said which received a chuckle from the kitchen. Kay shrugged and figured she would follow him to the kitchen. "Did you really not know he was planning on wearing that shirt?" She asked. Parker grinned.

"Now, what kind of annoying brother would I be if I didn't mess with him?" He replied, giving Kay all the answer she needed.

"Good point," she said as Parker filled a glass with water from the sink and took a sip before turning towards her.

"Sounds like you know from experience," he said. "You got a twin too?" Kay nodded. Parker grinned. "Wicked, so how about you set me up with her…….I mean, if she looks like you and all that…….twin double dating and all that," he said. Kay laughed.

"Uh I really don't think that'd work, since my twin's a _he_." Parker's face fell.

"Yeah, never mind then," he said.

"However, could I interest you with a roommate? Not exactly a twin, but almost close to being family." She replied. Parker regarded her for a moment.

"What does she look like?" He asked. Kay rolled her eyes.

"So I'm guessing Riley's the deep and non-superficial twin, huh?" She asked. Parker threw his head back as a loud laugh came out. Behind them, Riley came up to Kay, fixing the collar of another black shirt that looked like the one he'd been searching for except hit had long sleeves instead of the short sleeves on Parker.

"What happened?" Riley asked.

"Dude, your chick's got some spunk," Parker laughed before looking at Kay. "And to answer your question, wanting to know what a chick looks like is not superficial," he stated.

"I'm not a chick." She replied, causing Parker to chuckle. "And Hannah is a very great person... You'll just have to meet her to find out what she looks like." She commented. Parker opened his mouth to reply but was stopped by Riley putting a hand up.

"Park, don't say another word. As much as I'd enjoy seeing Kay verbally bitch slap you 'till next week, we've got plans," he said as his arm bent and he held it out to Kay. "Shall we?" He asked. Kay grinned.

"We shall," she said, slipping her arm around his. Parker rolled his eyes.

"You two are too disgustingly cute," he replied dumping the rest of his water down the drain.  
"Have fun on your date," he called to them as they made their way to the door. Kay turned her head back to her.

"Oh, we will," she replied as she and Riley left.


	7. Beautiful Friendship Part 4

Riley led Kay down the stairs in the dormitory hall, out the door and to the parking lot

Riley led Kay down the stairs in the dormitory hall, out the door and to the parking lot.

"I'm sorry about my brother….I should've warned you, he can be a bit of a pain," Riley said as he led her to where his car was parked. Kay smiled.

"It's okay," she said. "I like a little comedy before meals," she joked, causing Riley to laugh.

"Comedy, right." He replied. Kay grinned.

"Reminds me of my twin and being at home." She commented. They finally reached his car. Riley led her to the passenger side and opened the door for her. Kay gave him a smile as she slid in. Riley waited until her legs had swung into the car before shutting the door and going around to the driver's side and getting in.

"I didn't know you had a twin," he said. Kay smiled.

"It's not quite like you and Parker, my brother and I are fraternal twins," she said, eliciting a nod from Riley.

"Understandable." He replied as he started the car and backed out of the spot. There was silence for a few moments before Riley spoke again. "So where's home for you?" He questioned. Kay paused for a moment.

"Oh, around," she said. Riley gave her a brief look.

"Uh huh……and…around what parts would that be?" He asked.

"My family lives about an hour from here. We moved about 6 years ago." She replied. Riley nodded.

"Cool, so where were you before moving?" He asked.

"Oh, all over the place," she lied. "Dad's job would transfer him a lot….so it's really hard to say….."

"Oh cool. What does he do?" He asked.

"Do?" Kay asked, her eyebrows rising a bit. She looked out the passenger window as Riley drove, trying to think of something. She watched the cars whizzing by beside them as she came up with something plausible enough. "Uh……truck driver," she blurted out.

"Truck driver?" Riley asked.

"I mean…..salesman," she said. "Yeah, dad's a salesman…..and you know, he sometimes had to move around to different companies…….and instead of having us just stick in one place and him being away all the time and being separated, he would just pack up the whole family and we'd move."

"That's sweet," Riley said. Kay nodded. "So, does he still do that?"

"Uh, no," Kay said. "Dad was made district manager when we moved here……..so……we get to stay in one place," she said with a shrug. She quickly shook her head. "Anyway, enough about me, let's talk about you," she said with a smile. "Where are you from?" She asked. Riley turned the steering wheel as they approached the pizza place and he found a parking space.

"Parker and I are just townies," he said. "Our parents came here from Thailand a little after they got married," he added as he parked the car and shut off the ignition.

"Oh, so all your family's back in Thailand?" She asked.

"Well, mom's family is," he said. "Our aunts and uncles on dad's side immigrated here not to long after dad did and they're spread all over the place in Boston and Chicago. My grandparents are living in Florida."

"Oh wow... That's pretty spread out." She replied. Riley nodded and got out of the car. Kay went to open her door but was stopped when Riley came to her side and opened it for her. He held his hand out to her, which caused Kay to smile as she obliged and placed her hand in his. Riley held her hand as she stepped out of the car. Once she was standing beside him, he shut the door and clicked on the car alarm before lacing his fingers through hers. The walked towards the restaurant and waited a few moments before they were brought to their table.

"So, you and Parker were born here?" Kay asked as she and Riley looked over the menus they were given.

"Yeah," he said.

"Cool." She replied looking over the menu.

"So what are your plans for the rest of the afternoon?" Riley asked. Kay shrugged.

"I don't know, why?" She asked.

"Oh I was just wondering if you wanted to come back and watch a movie." he replied. Kay smiled.

"Yeah, that….that sounds really great," she said. She paused. "Uh, would it be bad form to say that I hope it'll be without your brother?" She asked. Riley laughed.

"Uh no," he chuckled. "Pretty sure I like you even more now," he said, which made Kay smile brightly. A few seconds later, their waiter appeared.

"Ready to order?" He asked. Riley looked at Kay who nodded.

"Yeah. I'll have the Thai Chicken Pizza with a water please." Riley replied before handing his menu off to the waiter, who then turned to Kay. Kay glanced down at her menu before looking up at the waiter.

"And I'll have the veggie pizza with no cheese and light tomato sauce and water," she said. The waiter nodded and took her menu before walking away. Riley gave her an odd look.

"Cheese less pizza? What's the point?" He asked. Kay chuckled.

"Cheese is overly fattening and as a gymnast I can't have overly fattening foods... Otherwise I could kiss my career goodbye." She replied. Riley's face fell.

"Oh," he said. "Well, now I feel like a total ass for suggesting this place……..I mean…….I should've picked some place that's…….uh……without cheese," he said. Kay laughed.

"It's fine," she said. "Are you sure?" He replied. Kay nodded.

"Trust me, you get used to the strange looks and comments. Growing up, my mom would always try and feed me massive amounts of food..Come to think of it, she still does." She commented.

"Oh yeah?" Riley asked as the waiter returned with their water.

"You're pizza's will be out shortly," he said before walking away again.

"So, what kind of stuff does your mom try to get you to eat?" Riley asked, taking a sip of his water. Kay shrugged.

"All sorts of stuff…..corn bread, mashed potatoes………her fried chicken is deadly," she said. Riley laughed.

"Is that a good or bad thing?" He asked. Kay chuckled.

"Good for the taste buds, not so much for every thing else," she said.

"Sounds really good... I take it she's a good cook then?" He asked.

"Well, she's always managed to keep me, my dad and my brothers satisfied, so yeah, she's a pretty good cook," Kay replied, taking a sip of her water. Riley smiled.

"What about you? Are you a good cook?" He asked. Kay chuckled.

"Me?" Kay asked. "Uh, not really. I mean, I can figure out my way around the kitchen and can make some simple stuff, but that's pretty much it. Growing up, my mom would always try to sit me down and teach me to cook but I always preferred to be outside playing football with the guys," she said. "She used to say no guy in his right mind would ever marry me if I never learned to cook," she laughed. Riley smiled.

"Well, between me and you, I think you've got some other pretty great qualities to make up for whatever you lack in the cooking area, so that shouldn't be a problem," he said with a quick wink, which made Kay blush.

"Thanks." She replied. The two leaned back a bit as the waiter returned with their pizzas.

"So you said you'd rather play outside with your brothers... How'd you get into gymnastics then?" Riley questioned. Kay laughed a bit.

"That would be mom's way of trying to get me out from the clutches of tomboy-ness," she said. "When I was little my brothers' influence kind of made me less than feminine, so when I was around seven, my mom took me to a gymnastics center and put me in classes, thinking that being around other girls and the leotards and just…….everything about it, would make me into well…….a girly girl." Riley made a face and Kay just laughed. "I started out in soccer, but then my mom discovered it meant that I got to wear cleats, and with four brothers, she wasn't too impressed. So she switched me into figure skating... That ended really quickly when she found me trying to stab James with my skate."

"One of your brothers?" He figured, to which Kay nodded. "Interesting," he chuckled, taking a bite of his pizza.

"Oh, you really want to hear interesting, you should hear what I did when my mom tried to lure me to the girly side by buying me an Easy-Bake Oven for my sixth birthday."

"……Please don't tell me you tried to stick one of your brother's head in it or something," Riley asked warily. Kay laughed.

"Uh, not quite," she said. "I used it to melt the Barbie dolls my mom bought me…….yeah the fire fighters that showed up didn't think it was funny," she said.

"Wow... That's, um, different?" Riley laughed. "So, I take it you and your mom don't get along?" Riley asked. Kay shook her head.

"Oh no, we're close," she said, taking a small bite of her pizza. "I mean, when I was a kid there were a lot of rolling of eyes from both of us, but as I started getting older and the……..well………differences…..between me and my brothers became more apparent, we got closer since, well we were the only females in the house and had to stick together," she said with a small smile.

"Ah I see." He replied, nodding. The two continued chatting and getting to know each other more as they continued their meal. Through their conversation Kay found out that Riley and Parker were both avid competition swimmers and that though Parker's forte was diving, Riley excelled more when it came to races and laps. "I just….love water," he said during his enthused proclamation of his favorite past time. "I mean, even when I'm not competing…….it's just……it's like everything, even something as mundane as walking, becomes so slow and beautiful." Kay smiled, finding the way his face lit up as he spoke endearing.

"Wow, that sounds amazing," she said.

"It really is." He replied. "Do you like to swim?" He questioned.

"Uh, yeah," she said. "But it's nothing compared to……well, your thoughts about it," she smiled. "I mean for me I've always seen swimming as a great way to cool off in the summer or work on my muscle toning, but that's about it," she admitted. Riley nodded.

"Not everybody has the same passion." He commented. Kay nodded.

"Yeah, you're right," she said.

"At least you _know _how to swim," he pointed out. "I remember back in high school, Parker dated this girl and……well, let's just say that if your mom likes girly girls, she would've loved this girl. She was more concerned about getting her hair wet or the chlorine 'messing up' her hair. Parker tried to get her in a pool once and she refused to go anywhere deeper than three feet and the second someone splashed her and got her hair wet….well, the speed she jumped out was record breaking." Kay laughed.

"Sounds like a lot of the girls that I do gymnastics with." She replied, sipping her water. Riley chuckled as he thought back.

"Man, now that I'm thinking of that girl, I'm trying to remember what her name was…..Hayley…..no…..Holly……yeah, yeah, Holly Mitchell," he said with a nod. Kay's eyes widened and she gave a small snort, nearly choking on the sip of water she had taken. Riley gave her a worried look. "You okay?" He asked. Kay cleared her throat.

"Uh yeah," she said softly, setting her glass on the table. "Sorry…..just…..uh…..Holly, she's on the gymnastics team with me…….and uh…….well let's just say she and I don't exactly get along," she said, thinking back to how she punched the girl in the nose the other day after she insulted Samantha. Riley chuckled.

"Somehow, I can see you not getting along with her." He replied as the check appeared at their table. Riley reached over and took the slip of paper before Kay could even start to move to pick it up. Riley smiled as he grabbed his wallet.

"It's a date Kay... The guy always pays." He commented, shooting her a wink. Kay blushed, looking down as if suddenly fascinated by the decorative pattern on the table.

"Uh yeah…….I knew that……..just……uh…..never mind," she mumbled. As much as Parker kept referring to this as a date before and Riley made no move to correct his brother, what Hannah had said before kept nagging in her mind. Even with his gestures of opening doors for her and holding her hand, Kay wasn't sure if this was a date or just two people sharing a meal. Her mind nearly kicked her at that. _Uh yeah, sweetie, holding your hand like that did kind of suggest that this just might be a date, idiot_, her mind chastised. Riley noticed her quietness as he dropped a card on the table on top of the bill.

"You alright?" He asked. Kay looked up and nodded.

"Uh yeah…..I'm fine……really good, actually," she admitted. Which was true. Now that Riley himself had referred to this as a date, a strong sense of ease went through her mind as the insistent uncertainties were put to rest. The waiter came over quickly and picked up the credit card and check. He returned a few moments later with another piece of paper for Riley to sign.

"Ready to head back?" He questioned as he signed the check. Kay nodded and Riley returned his card to his wallet before the two stood up and left the restaurant. Riley reached over and took her hand again as they made their way to his car.

"Can I ask you something?" Kay asked. Riley looked at her.

"Sure," he said.

"Okay well…….okay sorry if this sounds weird but………well, why lunch?" She asked as they reached his car.

"What do you mean?" Riley questioned as he opened the passenger's side door for her.

"I just mean…..you know…..instead of dinner, why lunch?" She asked. Riley was quiet for a moment.

"I have early practice every morning, and I didn't think it'd be fair to you if we were to watch a movie and then I just either fall asleep or kick you out." He replied. Kay bit her lip.

"Oh," she said, suddenly feeling pretty stupid.

"Plus," Riley said. "I guess……I didn't want to wait all the way until the evening to see you," he said. Kay blushed.

"Oh," she said. "I'll just…..uh, shut up and get in the car," she muttered as she slid in the car. Riley chuckled and shut the door before going over to the driver's side and getting in himself. Riley gave her a quick smile before starting up the car and pulling out of the parking lot as he drove back to campus.

--

Gabby sat at her desk in her dorm, taking notes from her reading in her Psychology textbook when a loud banging on her door made her jump, startled. She slowly stood up, adjusting her glasses on the bridge of her nose.

"Who's there?" She asked cautiously once she reached the door, deciding that anyone who'd bang on her door with such force was someone to be wary of.

"It's Mat," came the response from the other side. Gabby blinked.

"Lisa's in class," she said.

"Good, 'cause I came to see you," he replied through the door. Gabby sighed before walking over to the door and opening it.

"Hi," she said softly. Mat stared at her for a moment.

"Hi," he spat out before pushing past her into the room.

"Oh, won't you come in?" Gabby muttered sarcastically before shutting the door. She turned around to face Mat, only to see him peering at her with an incredulous look.

"What is your deal?" He asked. Gabby frowned.

"Huh?" She asked, confused. "You're the one who banged on my door as if the place was on fire, shouldn't I be asking you that question?" She asked as she slowly walked past him and went to her desk, shutting her textbook as she figured she wouldn't get any more studying in for now.

"I mean, you come off as this really nice and sweet girl but…….what…..is that just an act?" He asked. Gabby turned back to him.

"Excuse me?" She asked. "I don't……understand," she said.

"I mean, we're all supposed to be friends, right?" He asked. Gabby opened her respond but was cut off by Mat continuing to speak. "I mean, sure trying to be friends with Josh might be a full time job but I kind of thought you'd be easy," he said. He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Not _easy_, I mean……..easy to get along with," he ranted.

"I……never thought I was particularly hard to get along with," she said. Mat scoffed.

"Yeah, well, being a sucky person kind of makes it hard to get along with you," he said. Gabby's eyes shot up.

"What?" She asked, her mouth falling open in shock.

"I mean, you don't even know me, what the hell gives you the right to judge me and what I do?" He went on. Gabby blinked, her mouth slowly closing.

"I…"

"A lot of guys date around, it doesn't mean I'm some sort of ass or something. Oh," he said, throwing his hands up. "and the whole not taking a drink from your soda after I did……real nice," he said. Gabby leaned against his desk. He glared at her. "You did something," he said.

"I…..wha?" She asked. Mat nodded.

"Yeah, you……you worked your mind mojo and got into my head," he accused. Gabby stared at him.

"I did no such thing," she exclaimed, horrified.

"Well how else do you explain it?" He asked.

"Explain what?"

"What you said……last night……it stuck, and……" He said, his voice trailing off in his anger. Gabby blinked.

"I…….I didn't say anything, and I certainly didn't work any sort of mojo," she said.

"Okay, it wasn't what you said….just………..you reacted," Mat insisted.

"I reacted?" Gabby repeated.

"Yeah! You couldn't get out of the cafeteria fast enough…….no, more like you couldn't get away from me fast enough. I offer to walk you back here since it was late and you're worried about people getting the wrong idea. If that's not being judgmental, I don't know what is!" Gabby stood back, taking in all he said and waiting to see if he had ended his tirade. After she was sure he was finished she sighed.

"I wasn't worried about _people_ getting the wrong idea," she said in a small voice. "Just Lisa. I mean, how would it look? Her date shows up with her roommate? I was just trying to avoid any trouble for both of us," she explained. In all honesty, she did react when Mat admitted to his view on dating. But not the way he had seen it. Hearing how he had the tendency to date around came as a blow, much like seeing him with Lisa earlier that night had. It rocked her amorous thoughts about him at their core and she wasn't sure how to deal with that, and with that confusion came feeling awkward about drinking from the soda after he had. Not that she thought anything wrong with it, or him, but it felt strange putting her lips where he had put his….as if they'd been kissing.

"Oh, a likely story," Mat snorted. Gabby snapped her head up and looked at him.

"Why do you care what I think, anyway?" She snapped her voice close to yelling at his tone. "It's like you said, I don't know you, so why does it matter?" She paused, blinking as if she was gathering her senses. "I'm sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have yelled like that," she muttered. Mat closed his eyes. Something about her apologizing much like how she had been during their conversation the night before made his anger dissipate.

"What'd I tell you about apologizing?" He muttered. "Someone barges in your dorm room, verbally attacking you…..you yell, that's normal," he said. Gabby looked at him.

"I'm confused," she said. "Are you mad at me, or am I supposed to be mad at you?" She asked. Mat opened his eyes and looked at her. He thought about it for a moment before giving a soft chuckle.

"I'm really not sure anymore," he said. Gabby couldn't help giggle slightly.

"I'm sorry," she said. "……..For………last night…….for any reaction I had and for how it may have looked," she said. Mat sighed.

"I'm sorry too...I honestly have no idea why I reacted the way that I did." He really didn't understand it. He'd had girls that expected more from him react more extremely than Gabby had. There had been incidents of girls preaching how much what he did lacked virtue, girls cursing up a storm, even a slap or two, and he let it go. Sure, in the moment it was disappointing to have someone not understand him but an hour later he let it go, brushed it off as it being their problem and not his. But Gabby, something about her reaction stuck with him. It felt like as if Lydia herself was judging him, only it felt like it cut so much deeper.

"Are we….okay?" Gabby asked gently. Mat was quiet for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah, we're good," he said. "As long as you don't think I'm some STD-riddled manwhore," he said. Gabby's eyes widened.

"I never……I mean…." She shook her head furiously. "That's not-" Mat chuckled.

"It was a joke," he said. Gabby shut her mouth.

"Oh," she said. "Well, even so, I don't think you're a…..STD-riddled man…….er…..Lothario," she muttered. Mat laughed and nodded.

"And I don't think you're a sucky person," he said. Gabby smiled. "Well, I guess I should go…band practice," he said. Gabby nodded. He turned towards the door and stopped before looking back at her. "You're still coming over tomorrow, right?" He asked.

"Uh…yeah, I mean, if you still want me……….I mean, still want me to…….uh," she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Are the others?"

"Lydia and Kay seemed to be down with it, who knows what Josh is doing," he replied. Gabby nodded.

"Okay," she said. Mat nodded.

"Yeah, see ya around," he said before opening her door and leaving the room.

--

Riley and Kay arrived back at Riley's suite and Kay was currently sorting through the incredibly large movie collection that Riley and Parker had sitting in their living room.

"You have a huge collection of movies." Kay muttered. Riley, who had gone to the kitchen to get refreshments, returned with two glasses of water and smiled.

"It works to pass the time, I've never been a huge TV person, prefer movies," he said as he came up behind Kay. She turned and looked at him.

"Really, with the thousands of cases sitting around, I really never imagined that you had a thing for movies," she said. Riley smiled and handed her a glass. Kay accepted it and took a sip. "So, what'd you do to make sure Parker wasn't around?" She asked with an inquisitive smile. Riley chuckled.

"Nothing, he has class around now, and then he usually hits the pool for a while, so I figure we've got a few hours to ourselves," he said. Kay's smile expanded to a grin.

"Whatever will we do to pass the time?" She asked coyly. Riley grinned devilishly before leaning into to kiss Kay.

"I can think of a few ways." He replied. Kay's grin only widened as the two met for a light kiss. After it ended, Riley looked down at her before taking her glass out of her hand and placing it, as well as the one in his hand, down on the coffee table. He turned back to Kay and pulled her into his arms, his lips finding hers once more in a more intense meeting. Kay eagerly returned the kiss, opening her mouth as her tongue gently traced his lips. She felt Riley accept the invitation and open his mouth as their tongues soon began to move against each other. They pulled away a few moments later for some much needed air.

"So what about that movie?" Kay questioned. Riley smiled.

"Movies are pretty overrated, don't you think?" He asked softly. Kay giggled.

"Yeah, I can see what you mean," she replied, biting her lip gently.

"So..." Riley trailed off. Kay looked at him.

"So..." She replied. Riley chuckled.

"What would you like to do if we're not gonna watch a movie?" He asked, a mischievously glint in his eyes. Kay blushed. _Oh about a million things to your body..._ She thought. She bit her lip as her mind really thought about how far this should go. On one hand the idea of running her hand down his tight swimmer's body, among doing other things, did sound inviting, she also knew that they had just met, and this was their first date. She'd already thrown proper date etiquette out the window by kissing on the first date but she wasn't prepared to go too far.

"This seems like a good alternative for now," she finally replied as she caught his lips in a kiss. Riley grinned as he kissed her back. His free hand groped around for the movie that she'd picked out earlier. He broke away and looked at her.

"Come on, last thing either of us needs is my idiot twin walking in on us 'watching a movie'." He chuckled as he stood and helped Kay up off the couch. He led her towards his bedroom, shutting the door behind them. Riley tossed the movie onto his desk and turned around to face Kay whose back was against the door.

"Hi." He spoke softly. Kay blushed.

"Hi." She replied before Riley's lips crashed back against hers, his hands dropping to her waist and pulling her closer. Instinct and desire took over reason in Kay's mind as her hands squeezed between their bodies, her nimble fingers working on the buttons of his shirt until they were all undone. She moved her hands up, pushing the shirt off his shoulders, leaving him in just his white undershirt. Riley's hands went to the belt of Kay's jeans and quickly unbuckled it. After the belt had been dealt with, his hands undid the button of her jeans and slowly slid the zipper down. He pushed the top of her pants down slightly, his hands moving to where the denim material had been seconds before. Kay moaned, the sound muffled by his mouth on hers, at the feel of his hands on her. Riley smiled against her lips as his hands moved to the back of her thighs. Kay gave a shocked squeal as she felt Riley heft her upwards, lifting her feet off the ground. Her legs instantly wrapped around his waist.

"Someone's a little impatient," she muttered against his lips. Riley chuckled.

"You would be too if you had a beautiful woman in front of you." He commented as he pressed her back against the door. Using one hand to steady Kay's body against his and the door, his other hand snaked up her back and quickly found the clasp of her bra and undid it. The piece of material in question quickly fell from under her shirt and onto the floor.

"Hmm," Kay replied as her hands gripped at his shoulders. "Bet you say that to all the girls you get in your room," she teased. Riley grinned as he kissed her neck and began to undo the buttons on her shirt.

"Just you." He replied huskily. Kay tilted her head back against the door.

"You're wearing too many clothes," she groaned as her hands slowly left his shoulder, making sure he had a secure grip on her and she wasn't about to fall. Her hands soon found the buttons of his jeans and she artfully undid them without moving from her perch against his waist.

"You know," Riley commented as they slowly slid down his legs and he stepped out of them. "Most guys would think that's really freaky what you just did." He chuckled as he pushed her shirt off her arms and tossed it to the ground. Kay grinned.

"Just think of it as a bonus of being with a gymnast," she said, giving him a wink. "We're pretty flexible," she said, kissing the side of his mouth before working down along his jaw. Riley grinned as his played with the waistband of her panties. While Kay kissed her way down his jaw line her hands started to pull at Riley's undershirt. Without missing a beat, the piece of material was gone. Riley scrambled to keep a hold of her, after his arms lifted up to aide in the removal of his undershirt.

"Maybe we should move this to the bed," he suggested.

"Mmmm, you have some amazing ideas." She commented. Riley, careful not to trip over his discarded jeans, pulled her off the door and held her too him as he carried her across the room and set her down on his bed. Kay propped herself up on her elbows while Riley started at her.

"You sure you want to do this?" He asked. Kay blinked, feeling lost by the sudden stop in the touching and kissing. Riley took a deep breath and made sure to keep his eyes above her neck, fearing if he looked down at her exposed breasts, all gentlemanly thoughts would leave his head. "We could slow down, if you want." Kay smirked.

"Isn't that like shutting the barn door after all the horses have run out?" She asked. Riley opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Kay standing up in front of him. "Besides, that would mean that I have to collect my clothes and do a walk of shame... I'd much rather have something to show for it." She replied as she pressed her lips to his and pushed his boxers down. Riley placed a finger under her chin, making her lift her face up to look him in the eyes.

"Whatever happens here," he said softly, "it won't end in a walk of shame," he concluded before lowering his lips to hers in a gentle kiss. The two slowly sat down on the bed, their arms around each other, their lips still attached as Riley laid her down on the bed and eased on top of her.

"Wait," Kay whispered, detangling their lips. "Safety first," she muttered huskily against his chin. Riley nodded quickly, feeling a little stupid for not thinking of that himself. He shifted on top of her a bit as his hand went to the nightstand beside them, opening the drawer and producing a small foil package which he quickly tore open with his teeth. Kay waited, lightly biting her lower lip, watching as Riley pulled the condom out of the package and tossed the foil aside before he balanced himself over her with one arm while the other worked on getting the condom on himself. After a moment he glanced back at her.

"Ready?" He asked. Kay nodded before pushing her panties down over her legs.

"Yeah," she said softly as she opened her legs beneath him, bending her knees next to his waist. She put her arms around him, her hands going to his toned and firm back. Riley kissed her gently as he shifted again, slowly entering her. Kay moaned at the feel of him inside of her. This wasn't at all her first time, having had lost her virginity with one of her guy friends she had ventured a relationship with back in high school, but the build up and the fact that they hadn't agonize themselves by acting on thoughts of 'should we do this' or 'are we going to fast?' made the sensation all the more illicit and arousing. Riley slowly moved against Kay's body, moaning when her hips would push back against his. Kay squeezed her eyes shut as they continued, their movements picking up in speed as the sensations grew in intensity.

"Oh," Kay breathed out as Riley's lips found her clavicle, sucking and nipping at the delicate flesh. Kay's legs tightened around him as her hands went up, burying themselves in his short spiky hair. Riley lowered one of his arms from where he had kept them by her shoulders and let his hand travel down to one of her legs, clutching it below the knee as his thrusts got even faster. Kay moaned as her toes curled against the bed. "Oh god, don't stop," Kay gasped. Riley's lips traveled up to her neck.

"Wasn't planning on it," he grunted against her skin. Kay's fingers tightened in his hair as she felt her orgasm crash down on her. Her hips moved against him as she rode out the waves, moaning as she felt his grip on her leg tighten as he too moaned. Seconds later she heard him give one last grunt before collapsing on top of her. Both held each other as they panted, fighting to catch their breath. "Sorry," Riley muttered as he shifted off of her so he was now lying next to her. Kay smiled and turned to her side, curling next to him.

"Really didn't mind," she mumbled as her head found a place on his chest. Riley's arms came around her. "I'm pretty sure I just worked off all the calories from lunch," she teased. Riley laughed.

"I bet you're regretting getting cheese less pizza now, huh?" He replied. Kay giggled. She felt Riley shift beside her as he let go of her and sat up.

"Kicking me out already?" She asked. Riley looked back at her and quickly dove down and kissed her.

"I'd have to be all kinds of stupid to do that, wouldn't I?" He questioned. Kay grinned.

"Well, yeah," she said. Riley chuckled and got up from the bed. Kay watched as he removed the condom from himself before getting up and tossing it in the wastebasket in the room. Kay's grin only widened as her position gave her a perfect view of his naked body as he moved around the room.

"I guess we could….watch that movie," Riley muttered. Kay shrugged. Her thoughts were more around getting him back into bed with her.

"Sure, I guess," she said. Riley nodded and walked over to his desk, Kay's eyes never leaving him as he picked up the DVD case and walked to his television set. He popped the DVD into his player and turned the TV on, hitting the input button, causing the TV to jump over. He could feel Kay's eyes on him the entire time.

"Yes?" he questioned as he fiddled with the volume.

"Huh?" Kay asked, his voice breaking her reverie of staring at him. Riley smirked.

"You're staring at me," he replied. Kay blushed.

"No I'm not," she said. Riley chuckled as he walked back to the bed.

"Yeah you were." He replied. Kay rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," she muttered as her cheeks grew even redder. Riley grinned as he threw the covers back and crawled under them.

"You love it." He replied kissing her neck as his arm snaked around her stomach. Kay playfully smacked his chest.

"Think you could keep your ego in check?" She said.

"Hmmm, maybe." He murmured against her neck. Kay rolled her eyes and snatched the DVD player remote from him and hit play. Riley smiled and held her close as the DVD began. Kay sighed and rested her head on his chest. "Comfy?" Riley asked. Kay nodded and sighed happily. Riley smiled as the two settled in their embrace and watched the movie. Riley kept his arm around her waist as the other stroked her hair, twirling her curls in his fingers. The soothing touch and their previous tiring activity made Kay start to feel sleepy as her eyelids drooped. The opening credits of the movie hadn't even finished before she fell asleep. Riley watched as the credits and opening scene to the film began to play. He glanced down and noticed at Kay was asleep. He smiled and kissed her forehead.

"You're so beautiful." He whispered. Kay simply sighed in her sleep beside him. Riley smiled and held her closer with one arm. He decided against taking the DVD remote from her to shut off the movie, not wanting to risk waking her up, and simply settled deeper under the covers beside her as he let the sounds from the TV lull him to sleep.


End file.
